Kunce implicates PACs in Senate race loss to Hawley
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Missouri Democratic candidate Lucas Kunce told supporters they fought hard but the piles of money poured into the U.S. Senate race helped kill his campaign. He says he is unsure if he will run for office again.
“I mean, right now the only thing I'm thinking about spending more time with my family. You know, my wife here has been through the wringer on this,” Kunce told ABC 17 News. “Last year we had a baby. He spent two months in the NICU. Maryland works full-time. You know, my kids haven't gotten to see me as much as they should.”
Kunce gave his concession speech to supporters Tuesday night in Kansas City after The Associated Press called the race for incumbent Republican Josh Hawley.
"The system is stacked, right man?" Kunce said in the speech. "I mean, we tried to break that by rejecting money from all of these folks, right? Citizens United has destroyed our democracy. You know, every time we got close, a couple billionaires dump millions of dollars into Josh Hawley's super PAC to spread lies about us, right? That's the broken state of American politics."
With 40% of the state's precincts reporting, Hawley was winning 53%-45%.
Kunce cast his ballot Tuesday near his home in Independence and shared a final message with voters, boasting about not taking money from any PACs or federal interest groups. He also called on Republicans, Democrats and independents to vote for him to help change "who has power" and "get real representation in the state."
Claire McCaskill was the last Democratic senator to hold a seat in Missouri. McCaskill was elected in 2006 and reelected in 2012 but Hawley unseated her by winning 51.3% of the vote in 2018. Hawley was able to flip 48 counties that went the Democrat's way in 2012, including St. Charles, Platte and Franklin, which represent three of the 12 largest counties in the state.
Kunce ran for the Democratic nomination for Senate in 2022, losing to Trudy Busch Valentine. Democrats are hoping an abortion-rights amendment on the November ballot will help their candidates. Kunce tried to ride momentum built after an Oct. 31 debate against Hawley. His campaign has generated $20.2 million in campaign contributions.
However, unlike previous Democratic Senate candidates within striking distance in a historically red state such as Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock in 2022, Kunce did not generate the same amount of attention and resources from the party.
“I didn't really think about that that much,” Kunce said when asked by ABC 17 News about him trying to distance himself from the party. “For me, it really was just all about Missouri, right? The number one goal in this campaign for me, honestly, with winning was to bring money back to our state again. I mean, the old neighborhood I lived in where everybody had enough money to take care of my family when we went broke when we went bankrupt from medical bills like it's in shambles right now.”
The Jefferson City native has made an effort to appeal to moderates in the state by depicting himself as a gun-owning veteran whose platform focuses on changing who has power in this country. His campaign ads have said he does not want to be tied to any party bosses and did not publicly endorse any presidential candidate.
Kunce has also said he is against illegal immigration and wants to improve security at the border. His platform is also in favor of increasing teacher pay, ending the state abortion ban, and abolishing corporate PACs.
