Hawley hosts packed rally in Chesterfield as re-election campaign kicks off

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – Missouri Republican U.S. Senator Josh Hawley made his first stop in the St. Louis area since launching his "Hawley for Senate Campaign Kickoff Tour" following his uncontested primary victory Tuesday night.

Hawley will now face Democrat Lucas Kunce in the November general election. Hawley is seeking his second term in the Senate after defeating Democrat Claire McCaskill in 2018.

A fired-up crowd of supporters filled a barn at Stemme Farm, the site of Thursday night’s rally. Hawley came to Chesterfield after kicking off his re-election bid in the Ozarks on Wednesday and hosting an event outside of Kansas City early Thursday before making the trip across the state.

The senator didn’t waste any time attacking his opponent on Thursday evening.

“Lucas Kunce thinks a border wall is racist. He wants no border wall at all; he wants open borders,” Hawley said. “I’ll tell you what, it is totally nuts. But it’s Kunce.”

More than 100 people showed up for the rally Thursday and cheered for the first-term senator from Lexington, Mo. He attacked Kunce repeatedly while engaging supporters.

FOX 2 spoke with a few of those supporters.

“We stand with Josh Hawley, and he’s done a lot of good for the state of Missouri,” supporter Sandy Austin said.

“He’s there for we the people, and we the people need more people like that in Washington, D.C.,” Shirley Milliken said.

After Hawley's sp...