Missouri Senator Josh Hawley has been active online criticizing his rival in the state's senate race, Lucas Kunce, after a reporter covering a campaign event of his at a shooting range seemingly got injured by shrapnel.
The incident took place on Tuesday, with Kunce saying he and former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger were at the range with "some union workers while exercising our freedom." Without describing how the reporter got injured, he Democrat said: "Always have your first aid kit handy. Shrapnel can always fly when you hit a target like today, and you've got to be ready to go."
"We had four first aid kits, so we were able to take care of the situation, and I'm glad Ryan is okay and was able to continue reporting," Kunce added, featuring images of him helping the reporter from KSHB-TV bandage his arm.
Great day at the range today with my friend @AdamKinzinger. We got to hang out with some union workers while exercising our freedom. Always have your first aid kit handy. Shrapnel can always fly when you hit a target like today, and you’ve got to be ready to go. We had four first… pic.twitter.com/Qu4YxfrtrU
— Lucas Kunce (@LucasKunceMO) October 23, 2024
Hawley immediately started having a field day, posting jokes and echoing criticism of Kunce. "My grandma is a better shot than Lucas Kunce," and "will Kamala condemn the gun violence by Kunce and Kinzinger" are some of the publications by the senator following the event. He also republished harsh assessments, some of which claimed that the Democrat had never "shot a rifle at a range before today."
"There is no excuse to have someone get hit like that unless you were shooting wrongly set up steel far too close because you had no idea what you were doing," reads a publication reposted by Hawley.
.@LucasKunceMO makes international news … for shooting a reporter! Nice work, Kunce https://t.co/Ie7LJfItKW
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 23, 2024
While Hawley is seizing the opportunity to go after his opponent, he already enjoys a comfortable lead in the polls with less than two weeks to go. The latest survey, conducted by ActiVote between September 1 and October 1 among 400 likely voters, shows the incumbent ahead with 54% of the support, compared to Kunce's 46%. All polls since Kunce won his primary earlier this year show him trailing Hawley.
The slimmest poll that was not sponsored by Kunce shows him behind by 5 percentage points. Conducted by Change Research among 1,237 registered voters between September 11 and 13, it shows the Democrat with 41% of the prospective votes, compared to Hawley's 46%. Nonpartisan forecaster The Cook Political Report considers the race to be a "Solid Republican" one.
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