Josh Hawley defeats Lucas Kunce in Missouri U.S. Senate race • Missouri Independent

OZARK – U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley won his second term Tuesday, defeating a well-financed rival in a state that hasn't elected a Democrat to statewide office since 2018.

When the Associated Press called the race at 9:30 p.m., Hawley was leading Marine veteran Lucas Kunce 52% to 45%

“They said they were going to turn Missouri blue,” Hawley told his supporters Tuesday night. “They said they would invest everything to beat us. They said they would make an example of Missouri State. Well, tonight we made an example of them.”

Hawley, a former U.S. Supreme Court clerk and law professor at the University of Missouri, briefly served as the state's attorney general before entering the 2018 U.S. Senate race against incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill. He survived a national Democratic wave that year, defeating McCaskill by six percentage points.

Since joining the Senate, Hawley has adopted a more populist tone, abandoning previous opposition to anti-union “right to work” laws and minimum wage hikes. He also championed an unsuccessful push to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to cover people exposed to nuclear material left over from atomic bomb development in St. Louis.

It was his support for the RECA expansion that impressed Debbie Hedgepeth, who is retired and lives in Rolla. She said she supports Hawley because of “what he does for Missouri” and everything he believes in.

“He is a man of faith,” she said, “and he has done a lot for St. Louis as far as the bill to clean up (nuclear) waste.”

Sam Coryell, who lives in Springfield and works in commercial real estate and said she attends the same church as the Hawleys when they are in Missouri, said Hawley is “doing a great job in the Senate of encouraging our leaders, both Republicans and Democrats, to vote.” holds accountable.” .”

Hawley was criticized in 2021 for expressing support for the January 6 rioters just before they stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump. He was later captured on video running through the Capitol to escape the mob.

He has defended his decision to object to the certification of the 2020 presidential election despite there being no evidence of wrongdoing that would have affected the outcome of that election.

In his re-election campaign, Hawley sought to portray Kunce as an extremist, highlighting the Democrat's support for transgender rights and sharply criticizing his call for the country to transition away from fossil fuels.

Hawley also openly mocked Kunce after a reporter was injured by bullet fragments at the shooting range at one of his campaign events. He released a television ad that said Kunce “can't shoot straight” and called him a “ruthless liberal.”

In return, Kunce called Hawley an out-of-touch plutocrat and pointed out that Hawley's campaign spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on private flights across the state after he attacked McCaskill in 2018 for the same reason.

Hawley also came under fire over reports that he rarely visited Missouri during his six years in the Senate.

In the end, Hawley emerged victorious despite being overwhelmed by Kunce.

“What Missouri said is loud and clear,” Hawley said in his victory speech. “Missouri said we believe in this country, that God is not finished with America and we are here to fight for the future of America.”