The scenario could not get more old school. Two candidates vying to be Senator from Missouri at the State Fair are having an impromptu debate, standing in the middle of the state, discussing the issues that affect the people of that state and their nation. It would be a true Lincoln/Douglas-style debate. But in 2024, the Democrat strategy of debate dodging is not just on a national level; it is on a statewide level as well. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) inadvertently revealed that strategy on Thursday at the Missouri State Fair.
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Hawley tweeted the video on X as he dropped in on the Governor’s Ham Breakfast and made his way through the crowd looking for his Democrat challenger for the U.S. Senate this fall, Lucas Kunce, who appeared at the breakfast. Hawley is heard as he walks through the event, saying:
“Let’s go find Lucas Kunce. Let’s go find him, come on. Where has he been? I haven’t seen him, have you guys seen him? He hasn’t been out of his basement in two weeks. Let’s go find him.”
Hawley eventually stumbled on Kunce, who was initially cordial, and shook Hawley’s hand. The encounter quickly went south from there.
Hawley: “Lucas Kunce! Are we gonna debate today?”
Kunce: “How are you doing, man?”
Hawley asks again: “Are we going to debate today?”
Kunce: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Hawley: “You don’t know? I read your bulls**t letter to the Farm Bureau. Are you gonna sue the Farm Bureau?”
Kunce: “Dude, you’re really obsessed with this stuff. You’re really obsessed with this stuff.”
The letter Hawley is referring to is one where Kunce’s campaign threatened the Missouri Farm Bureau with IRS action over who can legally host a debate. In a statement put out by the Missouri Farm Bureau, which is a co-sponsor of the annual Fair and also has endorsed Hawley, it reads:
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There have been recent inquiries about potential political debates at the State Fair. The Missouri State Fair Commission believes the State Fair should continue highlighting Missouri’s Agricultural industry and the work of our youth exhibitors. The Commission has been working hard for the past year to set the agenda for 2024. Therefore, we are unable to accommodate any request for political debates on the fairgrounds during the duration of the Missouri State Fair.
Kunce said of the Missouri Farm Bureau statement, “Hawley ‘says there’s a debate at the State Fair — but there isn’t one. Josh Hawley is a fraud and a coward.”’ Hawley continued to challenge Kunce, saying, “Let’s do it! Are you ready? We’ve got it right across the place. We’re ready to go. Are you just a no? Come on, man.” A man claiming to be “with Kunce” then comes over to try to break up the discussion, and Hawley asks him if he would bring Kunce over to another area for a debate.
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While Kunce has accepted invitations to cross-state NBC affiliates KSDK-TV in St. Louis and KSHB-TV in Kansas City, it appears that, like Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris, Lucas Kunce needs a controlled, scripted environment and can’t seem to handle talking to Missouri voters at the State Fair in Sedalia, literally in the middle of the state, about the issues they are concerned most about this election.
As of yet, Hawley has not agreed to the televised debates, but he no doubt will. But as a Missourian who has a vested interest in this race, my question is, why not do both? Have the slick suit-and-tie debates in a television studio, but why can’t Lucas Kunce talk to Missouri voters one-on-one in an empty space at the State Fair? Isn’t the idea to reach as many voters as possible? Mr. Kunce, I’ve been to the State Fair. There’s plenty of room. No microphones? Lincoln and Douglas didn’t have microphones either. Next excuse.
It seems a bit strange that the Missouri Farm Bureau would not have attempted to make accommodations for a debate for such a closely watched race, not just in Missouri but around the nation. Note to the Missouri Farm Bureau: I live in St. Louis, and a Hawley-Kunce debate would be well worth the road trip.
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