Missouri – With less than 50 days until Election Day, Missouri’s two Senate candidates have agreed to a debate.

The debate will be televised live on FOX49 on Halloween night.

“He refuses to participate in a debate because he doesn’t want people to see the difference between him and me until the very last moment,” said Democratic challenger Lucas Kunce.

“I was willing to debate with him from day one, but he didn’t want to,” said Republican incumbent Josh Hawley.

Both candidates have agreed to the debate, but the bickering continues.

“I’ve been trying to get him to do one for a long time,” Kunce said. “He always turns them down and the only one he’s agreed to right now is one on Halloween, October 31st, you know, pretty long after early voting has already started.”

“I’m glad it’s being broadcast across the state and people can expect me to give clear answers on the issues we’ve talked about,” Hawley said. “But people can also expect me to ask my opponent who is supporting him in this election. Lucas Kunce is not answering whether he supported Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. That’s odd.”

Kunce is running for the Senate for the second time, while Hawley has been in office since 2019.

“They’re going to try to buy this seat because he’s their perfect candidate,” Hawley said. “He supports amnesty. He wants Medicare for illegals. He wants to abolish gasoline and diesel. He wants men in women’s sports.”

“If Josh Hawley stays in the Senate for another six years, it will cost us $2 billion in the state,” Kunce said. “We literally cannot afford to have him as our U.S. Senator.”

Kunce says he wants to use his knowledge from his service in the Marine Corps to influence his policies.

“I can take care of our veterans so we have someone who understands what the problems are, because right now we’re not being taken care of,” Kunce said. “We’re being left behind and we’re being thanked for a service, like that’s not enough. We need a veteran in Congress. I’m the only way to make that happen this year.”

Hawley recently released a report on the Secret Service’s failures in the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump. He says he wants to draw on his experience in this election campaign.

“We need to protect Medicare and Social Security,” Hawley said. “We need to close our borders and protect our children, and we need to reduce crime. And we can do that by being tough on the border and being tough on criminals.”

According to a recent poll by Emerson College and The Hill, Hawley is 11 points ahead of Kunce.

“For me, it’s about empowering people to make their own decisions,” Kunce said. “And as a U.S. Senator, I think my main job is to invest in the people of Missouri.”

“We need to get back to what made this country strong,” Hawley said. “We need to fight for Missouri families, rebuild Missouri industry and get Missouri energy production going again. And I will do all of that.”

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