‘Come on, Man!’ Josh Hawley Confronts Democratic Opponent in Cringeworthy Ambush at State Fair

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) confronted his Democratic challenger at the Missouri state fair on Thursday, challenging him to an impromptu debate during an awkward exchange between the two.

In a video posted by Hawley on X, the senator says “Guys, how are you? Let’s go find Lucas Kunce . Let’s go find him. Come on, where’s he been? I haven’t seen him, you guys seen him? He hasn’t been out of his basement two weeks, let’s go find him. Where is he? Where is he? Where is he? Where is he?”

Upon finding him, Hawley exclaims “Lucas Kunce! We gonna debate today?”

Here’s how the rest of the exchange unfolded:

KUNCE: How you doing, man?

HAWLEY: We gonna debate today?

KUNCE: I don’t know what you’re talking about, dude.

HAWLEY: You don’t know!? I read your bullshit letter to the Farm Bureau. Are you going to sue the Farm Bureau?

KUNCE: Dude, you’re really obsessed with this stuff.

HAWLEY: Come on!

KUNCE: You’re really obsessed with this stuff.

HAWLEY: Come on! Are you going to debate me today?

KUNCE: You already got the Farm Bureau and the state fair in trouble, man.

HAWLEY: Let’s go!

The pair continued to spar, with Hawley insisting that they debate today.

At another point their exchange Hawlyer, added, “It’s great to see out of your basement, Lucas. By the way, are you gonna do any campaign events around the state or just media?”

“Josh, why are you so weird?” Kunce replied. “Man, why are you so creepy?”

Kunce and Hawley have been at an impasse over where and when they will debate. The Farm Bureau, which has endorsed Hawley, has offered to host a debate. Kunce said he would participate in such a forum on certain conditions.

Hawley was elected to the Senate in 2018, when he beat Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill .

Kunce ran for Senate to succeed retiring Republican Senator Roy Blunt , but was defeated in the Democratic primary.

According to the RealClearPolitics polling average , Hawley is favored to hold on to his seat, although there has not been many recent surveys.

In the latest poll conducted by Emerson College, Hawley boasted a 9-point (47%-38%) lead over Kunce.