ST. LOUIS, Missouri — Despite the unmistakable aroma of cow patties swirling around the Missouri State Fairgrounds next Thursday, you won't find any politicians debating there after all.
After four days of U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) and Democratic challenger Lucas Kunce publicly posturing over a proposed debate on the fairgrounds, fair officials axed the whole thing.
"There have been recent inquiries about potential political debates at the State Fair," a Missouri State Fair Commission memo obtained by 5 On Your Side said. "We are unable to accommodate any request for political debates on the fairgrounds during the duration of the Missouri State Fair."
Editor's note: The above video aired during a previous broadcast.
The fairgrounds are a rite of passage for Missouri politicians seeking to make inroads with the agriculture community, and it is a popular spot for farmers looking to score some face time with candidates.
Last year, Hawley and Kunce both showed up at the Governor's Ham Breakfast and almost came face-to-face in an impromptu interaction outside the tent. After both men finished speaking with reporters, Kunce, who had officially launched his primary campaign that January, started to approach Hawley.
Reporters watched nearby while Hawley's aides physically surrounded him, shielded him from Kunce's advance, and helped shepherd him away from his opponent. Kunce continued to try and outflank Hawley's aides for a few paces, but relented when it became clear he was being shouldered out of the way.
Over the year that followed, Hawley routinely brushed off questions about his potential Democratic challenger, refused to say his name or acknowledge his campaign, and pivoted instead to suggest that whomever the Democratic party ultimately nominated would likely be supported by lots of special interests and outside money.
One year later, within minutes of Kunce clinching the Democratic nomination on Tuesday night, Hawley quickly challenged him to a one-on-one debate at the very same site, right outside the ham breakfast, on the fairgrounds next Thursday morning. Hawley's offer had one condition: no moderators.
Kunce shot back and raised the stakes, calling on Hawley to televise the debate, and to agree to four more TV debates.
Amid the back-and-forth, 5 On Your Side , KSHB and KETC began quick preparations to collaborate and organize a remote debate on location from the field. 5 On Your Side sent official debate letters to both campaigns and offered to televise the debate in primetime. The offer included moderators to keep the debate focused, fair, on topic, and on time.
Kunce's campaign quickly agreed to the televised debate offer. Hawley rejected a debate with any moderators, but still said TV stations were free to put it on their air. (No station has offered to televise a political debate without any control over its timing or content.)
Then, the Missouri Farm Bureau, which has publicly endorsed Hawley's re-election campaign, chimed in and offered to bring microphones so people in the crowd could ask questions. Hawley publicly agreed to that, but Kunce did not, noting that the Farm Bureau wasn't a disinterested party.
Kunce staged a press conference outside 5 On Your Side on Thursday morning to provoke Hawley into accepting the offer that would televise the debate into homes across the state.
"Most people think he's a coward, right? He's the dude who skittered out the back door on January 6 when things got real," Kunce said. "You know, I went and tried to say hi to him at the State Fair last year, and the man ran away as quick as he could. And so, like, is he gonna stick around? Is he gonna do this with KSDK and I? Is he gonna do these other ones that we've been proposed? Is he gonna do a series of five? Is he gonna answer the hard questions? I can't answer that, but, you know, the question for people in Missouri, if he doesn't, is: do you want a coward in office? Or do you want a United States Marine in office?"
Hawley's staff said he was open to debates with moderators, so we asked him why he wouldn't accept those terms at the event he sponsored at the fair.
"Why won't [Kunce] agree to a Lincoln-Douglas debate that has already been sponsored by the Missouri Farm Bureau and has people ready to televise it?" Hawley replied, dodging the question.
He claimed Kunce was "trying to hide behind any excuse not to do that debate."
"He wants you to hold his hand and put his makeup on and ask his questions," Hawley jabbed.
"So far, there's only one debate that has been on the table, and he, so far, will not do it," Hawley said, ignoring the other offer to televise the debate statewide.
At a campaign stop in Chesterfield on Thursday night, Hawley told reporters that he wasn't actually declining a TV debate (though he refused to accept the one he was offered). And then he said something no one else could confirm: that Nexstar Broadcasting had already agreed to broadcast his proposed debate with no moderators.
When Hawley made that remark, Nexstar's local news outlets publicly reported that the debate would be carried on 5 On Your Side, KSHB, and Nine PBS airwaves (though Hawley never accepted that offer).
Nexstar has not publicly said anything about a debate offer.
"They have not agreed to broadcast anything," Kunce's campaign spokesman Connor Lounsbury said. "It's not a debate."
Will Kunce show up?
"We'll be at the State Fair," Kunce's campaign aide said. "We wish there was a debate. There isn't one."
The Missouri Farm Bureau said they secured an alternative location to park Hawley's trailer to stage an event outside the fairgrounds next Thursday.
Will Kunce get up on Hawley's trailer?
"I don't know yet," Lounsbury said. "I don't think Lucas will be attending his opponent's campaign rally, but we hope he has fun with his endorsed organization. We'll continue to talk to voters and answer tough questions."