Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Lucas Kunce has begun the new year much in the same way he ended the old one, picking up cash and endorsements.
Kunce is the clear front-runner to win the August primary and face incumbent U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley in the November general election.
The American Federation of Government Employees announced last week that it is endorsing Kunce. The union represents workers at federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration and the departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security.
In a statement, Kunce said he is “proud to be backed by the hardworking Missourians who serve our veterans, our seniors and our national security.â€
This latest endorsement adds even more organized labor backing to Kunce’s run.
He previously has secured the backing of numerous groups, including the Missouri AFL-CIO; Missouri State Council of Fire Fighters; Service Employees International Union; Missouri Council of Machinists; the Building and Construction Trades Council of both ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Kansas City; and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, the state’s largest private-sector guild.
People are also reading…
When it comes to raising money, Kunce's campaign is reporting that in 2023, the candidate raised $5.4 million, the largest amount raised in a non-election year by a U.S. Senate challenger in Missouri. The 2023 campaign reports from U.S. Senate and House candidates are due to be filed Jan. 31 with the Federal Election Commission.
In the Democratic primary in August, Kunce will face state Sen. Karla May of ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Columbia activist December Harmon.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell pulled out of the race in November to run in the 1st Congressional District Democratic primary against incumbent Rep. Cori Bush, D-ºüÀêÊÓƵ.