Josh Hawley dealt a blow as Missouri’s biggest newspaper endorses rival

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, a staunch Donald Trump ally, has been dealt a blow from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the state’s largest newspaper, which endorsed his Democratic challenger, Lucas Kunce.

The endorsement, published Sunday, criticizes Hawley for his role in the January 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, when Trump supporters stormed the building to try to disrupt the certification of President Joe Biden’s election.

The Post-Dispatch, which has a daily circulation of over 104,000, did not mince words in its editorial, calling Hawley “quite possibly the worst sitting senator in America right now.”

The editorial said that while the blame for the Capitol attack is widespread, “one member stands apart for his singular role in spurring the violence that day: Sen. Josh Hawley.”

The newspaper condemned the Republican’s decision to become the first senator to challenge the 2020 election’s results ahead of the January 6 riot.

The paper also drew attention to the moment when Hawley raised his fist in solidarity with the rioters before the violence erupted. Hours later, he was filmed fleeing from the same mob through the halls of the Capitol.

The editorial board excoriated Hawley’s actions, saying, “Hawley’s role in Jan. 6 would, in itself, merit his expulsion from the Senate by Missouri voters.”

In addition to his connection to the January 6 attack, the newspaper criticized Hawley’s record in the Senate, describing his term as “almost completely devoid of substantive accomplishments” and characterizing his positions as “faux-populist sound and fury signifying nothing.” It also lambasted Hawley’s opposition to U.S. aid to Ukraine, calling his stance “shortsighted and obtuse.”

Newsweek reached out to Hawley’s campaign by email for comment.

The Post-Dispatch praised Kunce, a 42-year-old Marine veteran and attorney, for his moderate political positions and personal story.

Kunce’s rise—he was born into a working-class family that struggled to pay the medical bills, received a Pell Grant to attend Yale and served as a Pentagon arms control negotiator—was portrayed as that of a moderate, in contrast to Hawley’s extreme record, the paper said.

The editorial also said Kunce’s support for policies like reasonable abortion rights, gun control measures and universal health care would appeal to voters across the political spectrum. It said, “He checks the boxes that Democrats generally care about, but with a centrist element that should allow more conservative Missourians to at least consider his candidacy.”

In a statement it attributed to the candidate, Kunce’s campaign told Newsweek: “While our last Republican senator brought home hundreds of millions of dollars to create jobs and raise wages, Josh Hawley hasn’t brought back a single dollar in congressionally directed spending for Missouri.”

The statement continued: “We can’t afford another six years of America’s ‘worst sitting senator’—our worked-led coalition is going to take back this Senate seat so we finally can invest in Missouri, protect all our freedoms and Make S*** in America Again!”

The newspaper’s endorsement comes as recent polling suggests a closer-than-expected race between the incumbent and his challenger.

An internal poll from Kunce’s campaign published in September showed him trailing Hawley by just 4 points, 50 percent to 46 percent. The most recent poll, conducted by ActiVote from September 1 to October 1, had Hawley leading by a comfortable 8 points.

This tight margin reflects growing momentum for Kunce, particularly as the state prepares to vote on a popular amendment to enshrine abortion access in the Missouri constitution, an issue that has energized Democratic voters.

In most presidential polls in Missouri, Trump leads Vice President Kamala Harris by double digits.