Sen. Hawley, Dem challenger Lucas Kunce face off at Missouri State Fair

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley (R) and Democratic Senate candidate Lucas Kunce faced off at the Missouri State Fair on Thursday as they appeared to hit an impasse about debating each other.

“I just found Lucas Kunce at the State Fair and challenged him to show up to debate today at noon – and he said NO! But I’ll still be there, rain or shine,” Hawley wrote Thursday in a post on the social platform X.

The two have so far been unable to nail down a time and location for a debate, with Hawley pushing for a debate at the fair and Kunce eyeing a moderated televised debate, the Missouri Independent reported.

The two candidates could be seen in footage aired on local television station KMOV getting into a heated conversation regarding debating.

“Let’s debate, right now,” Hawley can be heard saying in the video.

“Can you say yes to Fox News?” Kunce responds.

“Are you gonna debate today?” Hawley replies.

The two go then continue to go back and forth in the footage, and can be seen in another angle being surrounded by a crowd as they stand face-to-face.

“Josh Hawley’s one rule to debate: No one sees it,” Kunce wrote in an X post Thursday, following their heated discussion.

“From robbing us of $250k in taxpayer dollars, to voting against IVF, he’s terrified of being exposed to Missouri voters. That’s why he’s refused to accept a single televised debate—even on Fox News,” Kunce continued.

“Today was Debate Day at the State Fair – and Lucas Kunce refused to show up. And given his nutty ideas, I can see why” Hawley wrote on X.

Kunce only has a slim possibility to recapture Hawley’s seat for the Democrats, according to a forecast from Decision Desk HQ, which gives him just a 3 percent chance of victory.