So he’s saying he’s got a chance ...
The political camp of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Lucas Kunce has let fly some polling results — admittedly commissioned by Kunce’s campaign — which show that if any Republican can lose statewide in Missouri, it may be incumbent U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley.
The poll was taken in mid-August , a D.C.-based Democratic polling and opinion research firm. It used responses from 863 Missourians likely to vote in statewide races in 2024.
The pollsters concluded that a Kunce-Hawley showdown next year could be “a competitive contest.â€
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The bottom line: Hawley leads Kunce, 44% to 43%. Given the poll’s margin of error, about 3%, the worst-case scenario for the challenger is about 47% to 40%.
To be sure, Kunce is not the only Democrat making a run at Hawley. ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, state Sen. Karla May of ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Columbia activist December Harmon also have filed for the primary.
Given the undecided amount in the poll, about 12%, the firm says Kunce’s candidacy has “room to grow.†And to foster that growth, numbers show Kunce could use some love from labor, of the union kind.
The poll points out that when Hawley was elected in November 2018, he garnered 51.5% of the statewide vote in a race against Democrat U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.
But in the August primary just months before, an anti-union, right-to-work proposal — which Hawley supported — was defeated by 67.5% of the voters.
Then, a minimum-wage hike proposal on the November ballot — which Hawley opposed — was approved by 62% of the voters.
Kunce backers contend that those results show a willingness among Missouri voters to split their ticket when it comes to issues involving unions.
And little doubt exists that organized labor in Missouri is marching behind Kunce.
The Missouri AFL-CIO was quick out of the chute earlier this year to endorse Kunce, and then staunchly reaffirmed that endorsement when Bell entered the race.
Kunce also got the nod from the construction trade councils from ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Kansas City; the Missouri State Council of Fire Fighters, which in the past has endorsed Republicans; and a number of guilds representing electricians, iron workers, bricklayers, roofers, tilers and insulators.
He also has the backing of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 655, the state’s largest private-sector union.
Local president David Cook said Hawley’s positions on right-to-work and minimum wage show that he has lost touch with his constituents, especially working-class voters.
Cook said his union’s support was not merely a case of sharing political dogma. “We’re behind Lucas Kunce because, as this poll shows, he can make this race competitive, and he can win.â€
Hawley’s campaign could not be reached Wednesday for comment. But that’s not saying Hawley doesn’t grasp the importance of unions in Missouri, at least in an online sense.
Here’s to the men and women who built America - the farmers, the roughnecks, the welders, the millworkers, the pipe fitters, the ironworkers: the men and women who poured blood and sweat into their craft to drive our country forward. Happy
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO)
On Labor Day, Hawley posted: “Here’s to the men and women who built America — the farmers, the roughnecks, the welders, the millworkers, the pipe fitters, the ironworkers: the men and women who poured blood and sweat into their craft to drive our country forward.â€