The video above will give you an idea of a #DraftLucas ad campaign that Blue America started running across Missouri this morning before dawn. So far, the ads are on Facebook and Instagram. We're primarily asking people in Missouri to join us in calling to #DraftLucas-- and anyone else... please use #DraftLucas on social media.

A reporter, Ryan Krull, from the Riverfront Times, a St. Louis weekly, went through the whole J-6 committee report and came away noting that Missouri’s junior senator, Josh Hawley, “closely associated with the events of that day, as he was photographed raising a fist in support of the election-deniers gathered in D.C. and was also filmed running from them after they breached the Capitol… is only mentioned five times in the committee's 845 page report (we thought it would have been more).”

Kansas City is in two states, Kansas and Missouri and the local paper, The Star, covers both states. Yesterday the editors noted that 2 of their 4 senators dishonored Missouri and Kansas by snubbing Zelenskyy’s speech; far right extremists Roger Marshall and Josh Hawley. They wrote that they had watched interviews with Marshall and Hawley,

“neither of whom attended. Marshall nonsensically said the speech was ‘disrespectful to the Border Patrol.’ Hawley seemed proud to have skipped it, saying he ‘didn’t want to be part of a photo op.’ It didn’t seem to bother him to have his famous photo op with a fist raised to encourage the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrectionists. I wonder if either senator would be brave enough to put themselves on the front lines for our country. How would they feel seeing their family and friends die or lose everything they had worked for, including their freedom? Both make me ashamed for our states. What I want to call them is not fit to print, and they are not fit to serve.”

Here at Blue America, we agree that Hawley is not fit to serve and note with anticipation that he will face the voters again in 2024. We are urging Lucas Kunce to run against him. In fact, they’re both runners— Hawley will be forever known as someone who runs away. Kunce was a cross country runner for Jefferson City High School in 1998 and 1999 and then for Yale.

Last year’s Senate election for a rare open seat pitted Attorney General Eric Schmitt (R) against Anheuser-Busch heiress, Trudy Busch Valentine. She was a garden variety Democrat running in a state where most voters oppose garden variety Democrats. But she had flooded millions of her own into the primary, enough to win that— and then lose the general. She wound up with 872,694 votes (42.2%), about half the number who had voted for Biden in 2020. Had she inspired more Biden voters to turn out, she would be a senator today. But there was absolutely nothing inspiring about her or her platform!

During the primary Kunce beat her in St Louis City, and in swing counties like Boone, Greene, Platte, Cole and Jasper counties. Even in red counties like Cape Girardeau and Shelby counties, he pulverized her— 50% to 24% in Cape Girardeau and 50% to 12% in Shelby. She only won because she poured millions of dollars into blanketing St Louis, Jackson, St Charles, Clay, Cass and Jefferson counties with false ads. She would up with 43.2% (158,583 votes) to Kunce’s 38.4% (140,953 votes).

Now, people know who Lucas Kunce is.

If he decides to run, he will easily win the primary and will, unlike any other Democrat in the state, go toe to toe against the heavily damaged Hawley. Lucas’ 2022 ActBlue campaign page is still open (a good sign). If you want to help send him a message that you’d like to see him run again, how about sending him $24? Or even $1?. He may not have made up his mind yet, but I think he’s going to do it. He cares too much not to. Let's help him decide!

Thanks for always doing what you can to help make this a better country.

Howie, for the entire Blue America team.