SEDALIA, Mo.—The debate over debates in the U.S. Senate race between Republican Josh Hawley and Democrat Lucas Kunce briefly upstaged activities Thursday at one of the biggest annual events at the Missouri State Fair, the Governor’s Ham Breakfast.
The event this week marked the last one for Gov. Mike Parson, who leaves office in January. A victory lap of sorts was momentarily overshadowed by an animated confrontation between the Senate candidates, who had spent the previous week failing to come to terms on a debate. Kunce has agreed to multiple broadcast invitations, including one that would have taken place in Sedalia Thursday. Hawley wanted a Lincoln/Douglas-style debate hosted by the Missouri Farm Bureau. Kunce argued that the forum could violate federal election law because the Farm Bureau had already endorsed Hawley, and did not appear.
Hawley has previously said he expects to have debates but a spokesperson Friday did not respond when asked if he’s accepted any of the invitations.
If the word “weird” is having a moment in the political discourse at the national level, Thursday’s hubbub, witnessed by the state’s political media, elected officials, and University of Missouri President Mun Choi, among others, served as a reminder to those paying attention that that language has been at play in this race for some time.
Kunce has described books written by Hawley as “weird” and “creepy” for months and invoked the weird phrase several times in their pseudo standoff Thursday. Since the primary election, Hawley has adopted “It’s nuts, but it’s Kunce” as a stump speech dig.
Spectrum News asked if this is the level of discourse the public should expect between now and November?
“He’s obsessed with this little stunt that he wants to put on right now rather than do real debates. If you ask me, that’s nuts,” Kunce said. “I thought I was the guy who’s supposed to be nuts out here….I don’t know where he’s going with this.”
“I’ve criticized him on his ideas,” Hawley countered. “I’m sure he’s a nice guy. But listen, his policies are nuts. They’re absolutely nuts.”
Schmitt deflects on Trump administration talk
Eric Schmitt appeared at the same Ham Breakfast event in 2022 as a candidate, fresh off a win in a crowded primary where he faced criticism for not participating in Republican debates. It was at this event in 2022 when he shook the hand of Democratic Senate nominee Trudy Busch Valentine. It was as close as the pair would come in the general election campaign, with no joint debates.
Schmitt won in 2022 and in this year’s presidential race, he’s taken on important roles in support of former President Donald Trump. He was among the lawmakers who traveled to New York during Trump’s trial this summer on fraud charges. He reportedly assisted Trump with debate prep, he had a speaking role at the Republican National Convention and calls Vice Presidential nominee J.D. Vance a personal friend.
He’s also been a reliable Trump-Vance surrogate on cable news.
As Missouri’s attorney general, Schmitt used the power of his office to file briefs and lawsuits to support Trump. Could he be in line to lead the Justice Department in a second Trump term? The Kansas City Star reported last month that Schmitt was on a short list.
He deflected when asked about it Thursday but did not commit to serving out the remainder of his term.
“I'm not going to get into that, honestly. I don't get too far ahead of myself. My focus is on helping him and representing the state.”
Special Session Talk
Missouri lawmakers are scheduled to return for the annual veto session on Sept. 11. The veto session has sometimes been used as a time to call a special session as well, but as we sit in mid-August, it doesn’t appear as though that will be the case in 2024. But Gov. Parson appeared to leave a small crack open for some special session before the end of the year. His office has said for the past few months that it didn’t expect one but Parson didn’t categorically rule one out when talking to reporters at the fair Thursday.
As a rule, Parson has previously waited for lawmakers to have something on the table to vote on before recalling them. The two most likely special session targets would include incentives for Kansas City Chiefs and Royals stadium projects, and a large supplemental budget request but as of yet there is nothing on either front to suggest they will get that far in time to do anything before the next governor is sworn in along with a new General Assembly.
“What happened last year was not a good way to really try to lower the budget when all you’re doing is just moving the numbers around. We owe people money and they’re going to come to collect and we’re gonna have to pay it so there will be a large supplemental,” Parson told Spectrum News.
The two major party nominees to succeed Parson–Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and Democrat Crystal Quade, the Minority Floor Leader, said they haven’t had any discussions with Parson’s administration about what that supplemental budget could need to entail if it waits until either of them are in the Governor’s mansion.
Another factor that could complicate a special session call: The makeup of the Senate has changed over the past six months. Two Democrats, Greg Razer and Lauren Arthur resigned to accept state appointments, while a third, John Rizzo, who like Arthur was serving in his last session due to term limits, resigned to accept a position with the Jackson County Sports Authority. Republican Karla Eslinger left to become commissioner of Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.