FREEBURG  — Democrat Lucas Kunce, who is running to replace Josh Hawley in the U.S. Senate, told a packed house at Friday’s Truman Day dinner at the American Legion Paul A. Hasenbeck Post 317 in Freeburg that he is a leader whose time has come to represent Missouri on the federal level.

Kunce related a story from his freshman year in high school about how embarrassed he felt growing up on Dunklin Street. “I grew up in a nice house. This was an inexpensive neighborhood, but it was a nice house. There was room for all of us kids, and my parents were taking care of the asbestos.”

He said that his home became an issue after he partnered with a classmate who lived in a very nice house on the west side of Jefferson City.

“This not a romantic story,” Kunce said, noting he and Jennifer were paired for a project, which he considered a big break. “We’re really friendly. Her mom picks us up after school. I go out there, and we’re having a good time. Her mom opens up the cupboards, and it’s not Always Save. There was not a yellow box in the house. Oreos; the cereal was in boxes, not bags. The Pop Tarts were the right color. I think her mom even gives us soda. I mean, how about that?”

At the end of the evening, her father, Larry, a prominent employee at Algoa Penitentiary, offered to take him home.

“I don’t want him to take me home,” said Kunce. “I don’t want him to see where I live.”

After offering to call his father, who worked for the Missouri Department of Conservation, for a ride, Jennifer’s father insisted. “Larry’s got values. He’s like, ‘No, son, you come to my house, do the project, so I’m taking you home. We’re not going to make your father do that.’ I told him, ‘Well, sir, I mean, you know, I know those are the rules and all, but it’s not that far away.’”

Kunce lost the argument and was driven home in a Cadillac. “My dad would take me to school in his rusted-out old conversion van,” he said. “I made him drop me off at the bottom of the hill, and I walked all the way up because the brakes squealed so loud.”

Concerned about his reputation, Kunce said he gave roundabout directions so they would come down Dunklin Street from the better side. Instead, he wound up parked in front of his house. “My heart just sinks,” he said. “I had forgotten that my parents had finally gotten around to painting our house that summer, but they didn’t have enough money to paint the whole house. So, they hadn’t painted the side where you come up from because no one really comes up that way. So, you just see all the paint flaking down and everything. We pull up, and I’m just dejected.”

Kunce said he said goodbye and began walking to his front door when he heard a car door close behind him. “I turn around, and there he is, looming over the top of the finest car ever to travel on Dunklin Street. He looks at me, and I just stand there and don’t say anything. He looks at my house, he looks back at me, and he says, ‘Son, I’m proud that Jennifer’s your friend. You’re going to do real things. I’m proud of your family, and I’d love for my daughter to come over here anytime. He doesn’t wait for a response; he just gets back into his car.”

Jennifer waved from the car as they drove away, and Kunce said he realized she didn’t care about his house. “That was a transformational moment for me in ninth grade because when you are in that situation, to get that sort of validation from someone on the outside was very meaningful for me. It really changed my perspective.”

Kunce added that Democrats are proud of what they’ve done. “We stand for it, and we show them that we have real stories,” he said. “We have real stories that people understand. When I go around this city now, I talk about growing up in that neighborhood, living paycheck to paycheck, and being one disaster from bankruptcy. I’m not ashamed of it.”

He compared his upbringing to that of his Republican opponent. “Kids like Josh Hawley go to the fanciest private schools,” Kunce said. “They want people to understand how they grew up. We all want someone who understands us so that they can actually represent us. And so I talked about the neighborhood that was falling apart and how the only new houses being built there were Habitat for Humanity houses. That was the single best place that I could have grown up. It really was, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”

Kunce said his parents were married in 1942. “They didn’t want to violate the rules,” he noted. “Then they have four kids pretty quick because, again, they’re playing by the rules. And so they were (living) paycheck to paycheck at that time and living on the edge. When my little sister was born, we found out she had a heart condition. When you’re living on the edge, and your boiler breaks, your car breaks down, or you lose a job temporarily, that puts you under man; that’s it. You’ve got absolutely no room, and our family went bankrupt because of the medical bills. I remember watching my mom cry herself to sleep every single night, not just because she didn’t know if her little girl was going to survive these open heart surgeries, but because she didn’t know how she was going to put food on the table for us and take care of us. That’s a tragedy.”

Kunce said Democrats are the people who will fix that in this country. “We’re the ones who work toward the type of thing we can be proud of and talk about,” he added. “And I’m telling you right now, everybody in this state knows a story like that; everybody’s been around it in our neighborhood, where people had no more money than we did. I’m telling you, they had no more money than we did. They saved us during that time. They passed the plate in their churches to take care of us. They brought more tuna casserole by the house than we could ever eat. I swear to God, I remember sitting on my couch one night and praying, ‘Dear God, please let somebody bring lasagna tonight.’

“Every person in this state has been a part of that story on one side or another,” Kunce added. “We know what that’s like. These charlatans, these phonies, these bankers like Josh Hawley — they have no idea. He has no idea how each of us lives, and his policies show that. He can’t touch us. And you know what? The people of this state know that. He is underwater in the same way. His favorability is 42 percent, and his unfavorability is 43 percent. Do you know how hard it is to be underwater as a Republican in this state? That’s an achievement.”

Kunce is a 13-year Marine veteran. After he graduated valedictorian at Jefferson City High School, Kunce attended Yale University with help from a Pell Grant and scholarships from people around town.

He earned a degree at Yale and then attended law school at the University of Missouri.

Kunce joined the Marines after graduation from MU and served overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. “I joined the Marine Corps to pay back the neighborhood that took care of me,” he said. “I led a police training team in Iraq, driving them up and down the roads, dodging IEDs, and trying to bring everybody home safe. I went to Afghanistan twice. We know what Josh Hawley did during the Iraq War. He popped popcorn and watched his peers die on TV as if it was a movie. It’s been exposed by one of his former roommates. That’s how you know the character of a man. During that time, he was starting secret societies with billionaires and other weird stuff like that. We can contrast that; we have a real opportunity to contrast my background, the way I grew up. Another thing people ask about is the path to victory. One of the things we’ve got to do in this state is get national money into the state because if we don’t do that, we’re not going to win.”

Kunce has appeared on several shows, including Morning Joe and Fox News. “I’ve been on the conservative talk radio because I am not ashamed to contrast myself against this guy. I will do so every day against anyone I get the opportunity to do that with because he’s a fraud, and I’m not.”

In the last quarter, Kunce’s campaign raised $1.1 million, more than any other candidate — Republican or Democrat. “We did that the right way,” he said.

Kunce said he would not accept corporate PAC or federal lobbyist funding. “I didn’t want to take any big pharma money or the fossil fuel money. I had a really long list because I said the only people that I ever want to owe are everyday Missourians and people like them who took care of my family in that neighborhood. Because you know, if I sell out to get into office, I’m nothing anymore, and I don’t make a difference for them. This is the only way to do it. And that was hard, right? We had a hard time figuring out how to raise that money last time.”

Despite losing the last election to what Kunce called the “billionaire class,” Kunce said he nearly won because this is a real grassroots movement. “Well, that grassroots movement is still there, and people are still inspired,” he said. “And when we raised the $1.1 million last quarter, our average donation was $30. That’s how we win this thing; we all come together.”

Former Missouri Agriculture Department Director John Haggler, who lives in Freeburg, spoke about the state and the Democrat party.

“Since Governor Nixon left office, this great state we all love has made plenty of headlines. What we haven’t done is made much headway,” said Haggler. “If you look at it, it’s been quite the opposite. We are 27th in infrastructure, fourth highest in the number of deficient bridges, 31st in economic outlook, 42nd in health care, 45th in crime and corrections, 49th in workforce, 47th in early childhood education, and 50th in starting teacher pay. This is just a few of the statistics. I wish I could say that I cherrypicked them, but the fact is, the fruit has all been plucked off.”

Haggler blamed the Republican legislature. “They seem to be able to rally around the notions of 12-year-olds being able to marry and babies to carry guns. Both issues, I grant you were incredibly important — in 1823.”

Haggler noted that his viewpoints are not meant to secure votes since he has been retired for the last 10 years and not seeking office. However, he’s not shy about expressing his opinions.

“(Republicans) have no problem limiting the rights of others, especially those that are not male or who don’t look like them,” he said. “They have no problem with limiting the rights of workers or farmers. But they seem to have an inability to prioritize the policies that actually could help the working men and women of this great state. The record on public education alone is dismal. It’s an embarrassment. No offense to southern states, but when Arkansas and Mississippi pass you up, you’re not exactly on track. You’re pretty lost.”

Haggler, too, criticized Hawley. “He’s so wrongheaded on so many views and policies, I had a hard time knowing where to start,” he said, adding that during a recent interview, Hawley said, in defense of his deep-seated thinking, the U.S. should abandon the hard-fighting people of Ukraine and let Putin take over all of Eastern Europe. “He said, ‘You are either a nationalist or a globalist.’ Of course, he supposes that he’s the former. Now, this is what academics call a false dichotomy. It’s a false choice between two things. And I’m sure that the good senator from Pennsylvania knows that. He plays well to his nationalist neo-isolationist friends he seems to want to cater to. He went on to say that Ronald Reagan was a nationalist. No, sir. Wrong again. Ronald Reagan stood up to dictators around every corner of the globe. So, let me put it in simple terms. If we’re going to use the senator’s box, you’re either the undisputed global power and leader of the free world, or you’re being led by somebody else. I know which box our country is in. I know which box I want our great country in. I just wish the senators representing us knew which box they were supposed to be in. If you turn it over to someone else and become more isolationist, you’re going to be led by something that’s far less democratic, far less to share our ideals and the values on which this great country was founded, which we hold so dear. We can’t afford to have that kind of representation. There are burdens to being a leader of the free world, to being the greatest democracy in history. The dominant hegemonic power for over 250 years comes at a price. But I will say to you tonight that I believe that price is worthy of us to bear.”

Haggler added that if Hawley’s national thinking is reduced to a choice, he would give him that choice. “I would say, Senator, here’s a choice box for you,” he said. “You can either be a patriot, or you can be an insurrectionist. You can’t be both. I’m poking a little fun at the Senator, okay? We’re at a democratic rally. We’re poking a little fun. And honestly, I don’t mean him any harm whatsoever. In fact, I want to be the first to wish him a very happy life because I’m looking forward to Lucas Kunce being our next senator.”

Haggler continued, saying, “They’ve got a war on Medicare, health care, environment, Social Security, and progress. Where does it stop? The most pernicious is the war on truth. I was thinking the other day, you know you live in a strange universe and difficult times when neither Lincoln nor Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt or Eisenhower, Goldwater or the Bushes, and certainly, Ronald Reagan, would ever be welcome in today’s Republican Party. They would not be accepted. They’d be called rinos and run out of business.”

Haggler said he’s confident that residents of Osage and Maries counties, or any other county in Missouri or the United States, if given a choice to throw out all the members of Congress, regardless of party, would probably do it and start fresh.

“I’m not too sure they wouldn’t like different choices for their president,” Haggler added. “I’m personally thankful for adult leadership the last two years. We cannot lose sight of what is at stake in this country, of defining exactly what we stand for and what direction we’re going to take in our district, state, and country. We cannot lose sight of the simple fact of how divided this country truly can be when there are those who seek out that division and seek to exploit that division.”

He said it’s common sense to pursue policies that seek to shift not all but some of the incredible work of the working people onto those who are fabulously wealthy. “It’s common sense that the richest, most powerful nation on earth can provide its citizens affordable healthcare,” Haggler continued. “It’s common sense that the U.S. can provide world-class childcare and quality public education. It’s common sense that we begin to rein in the powerful economic forces distorting our market economy by enforcing antitrust, fair playing fields for workers and small businesses, protecting the privacy of information, and sensibly regulating advanced technologies. It’s common sense we spend more money on advanced research and that we spend our money on investments like infrastructure, and less on narrow, tailored special interests.

“It’s common sense that we fight to ensure the rights that have been gained in this country,” he added. “For over 250 years, people have fought and bled. Soldiers have died defending this great country and these ideals. And it’s common sense that we stand for democratic principles around this globe. I believe in this Democratic Party, and I believe that this party can rise up, grab these ideals that we hold so dear, and make a true difference.”

Haggler said the Democrat Party is at its best when representing the common people, the working people — Americans who cannot be represented by anybody else. “Our party is at its best when we have the compassion of Roosevelt, the forthrightness of Truman, the idealism of Kennedy, the effectiveness of Johnson, the kindness of Carter, the down-to-earth and financial practicality of Clinton, the intelligence and foresight of Obama, and yes, the decency of Joe Biden,” he said.

Among the Democrat Party’s accomplishments Haggler touted were Social Security, Medicare, the 40-hour workweek, maternity leave, child labor laws, and the Affordable Care Act. “If, when you return to your communities like I do, and all your Republican friends start giving you flak for being a Democrat, you remind them of these facts, and then the next time, you might even say to them that you’re an unterrified Democrat.”

Missouri Democrat Committee Vice Chair Yvonne Reeves-Chong   told the crowd the party is not abandoning cities, but every county is important. “It’s about to get real world,” she said. “We’re not embarrassed; we’re not shy. We’ve got a story to tell, and by God, it’s time to start telling it.”

Reeves-Chong said the key is talking to people. “When you hear somebody in the grocery store say, ‘I can’t believe the price of everything; seems like everything’s gone to hell in a hand-basket.’ You look them right in the eye and say, ‘You are right. I am so ticked off. Republicans have been running this state for 20 years.’ Things have gone to hell, and they know it.”

She noted that the Missouri Democratic Party is showing up in rural, suburban, and urban Missouri. “You all are gonna get so sick of us,” Reeves-Chong said. “But we’re bringing the fight. We’ve got your back; you will not be out on an island anymore.”

U.S. Congressional (3rd District) candidate Bethany Mann said that when Democrats come together, they let Missourians know there are strong patriots ready to stand up for things like human rights, good-paying jobs, and the values that make America great.

“I’m running for Congress because I believe that Missouri should be a leader in important issues that build up families and strengthen the working class,” said Mann. “I believe in things like equal and fair bargaining rights for workers and farmers, advancing development and infrastructure, not just in improving our waters and waterways and dams, but making sure that we have clean water for our kids to drink, and for manufacturing and to grow business. And I believe that all of our kids deserve a high-quality education and a fully and equitably-funded public school with libraries full of books. I believe in an economy that works for all of us, not just the corporate billionaires who pollute the Earth.”

Mann, who wants to challenge Blaine Luetkemeyer, said it’s time for a change in Missouri. “He’s a banker who represents banks instead of working families, and it’s time to hold them accountable,” she added. “And it is about getting together and sharing your stories and being relatable. I see a whole row of candidates here who are out here doing this. I’m a mom. I left a two-and-a-half-month-old at home with his dad just to be here with you guys. I know what it’s like like to go to Walmart and have to return formula because there’s been a recall. Working families deserve more than that. I’m so excited to have all of you here because when we show up in numbers, we let people know that there are strong patriots here in Missouri to fight for working families. That’s what I need to do.”

U.S. Congressional (8th District) candidate Randi McCallian told the group that Democrats hope to have more House candidates on the ballot than last time.

“We had 16 uncontested State House seats in the eighth congressional district last year,” said McCallian. “We’re hoping to have far fewer next time. We have at least three or four county committees that don’t even operate, and we’re building them up. We also are working on a speaker’s roster so that people who are organizing events like this can have a list of people to come speak at your events. This will make it easier to bring people together to learn, organize, and connect. You’re gonna get to know me as your action person. Every speech needs an action step. Every time we connect to someone, you need an action step.”

She added that small, monthly donations are preferable to large contributions because she can more easily budget. “I can hire staff that can do the same job for a year and a half,” McCallian said. “We all learned knocking on doors that we all agreed — Republican and Democrat — there’s too much corruption in our government. And we all want big money out of government. You can connect with every single Republican in this entire state on corruption and government and getting big money out of government. Connect on that; we have a shared value. That’s a great one right now because all Republicans want liberty from government interference, right?”

Lt. Gov. candidate John Kiehne said he decided to run because, like others in the Democrat Party, he believes that working people deserve to earn a living wage. “(Democrats) believe that the United States of America is everybody, not just the white folks, not just the men, not just the wealthy; everybody.”

Kiehne added that Kunce wants to represent everyone, Republican or Democrat.

“Most of our counties are controlled by Republicans, and they don’t care about the working people in this state,” he said. “They don’t care about the working people and their communities. They pit American citizens and Missouri residents against one another in their efforts to be more powerful and to have more influence. And, in doing so, they’re taking away women’s reproductive rights, which we support. They want to get rid of the prevailing wage and restrict our voting rights. We are fighting as Democrats. We’re fighting for these common, everyday issues that we all — black, white, gay, straight, male, female, rural, urban, or suburban —  need. One of the most important things that we can do is protect and nurture victims of domestic violence, horrible domestic violence, and neglect.”

Attorney General candidate Elad Gross is a former assistant attorney general who currently runs his own law firm in St. Louis.

“I strongly believe that we need an attorney general who will go after scammers in our state,” Gross said. “Anybody here fed up with where state government is going right now? Well, I’m fed up too, and I’m a former assistant attorney general of our state back when we used to have a real attorney general in Missouri. It’s been a while now. I’ve spent the last several years working on protecting Missouri’s Sunshine Law, which gives you and your family the right to see what our government is doing. We need an attorney general who is going to sue the scammers on our phones, the scammers fixing prices in our economy, and who’s going to sue the scammers who pretend like they’re governing in Jefferson City right now. We need someone who’s going to stand up for us. I feel super strongly about that.”

Gross related a story about an interview with a first-grade student who asked how one turns a dream into reality. When he posed the question back to her, she said it takes people. “That’s what we have to do in this room,” he said. “The Missouri Democratic Party has to be the party for working families in the state. I can’t tell you how many Republicans and Independents I’ve talked to, but many are ready for a change and want sanity back in the state of Missouri. That’s what we’re going to get.”

Missouri House of Representatives District 49 candidate Jessica Slisz said Democrats have to keep telling people the truth. “I don’t know if you all know this, but farmers don’t really have a retirement,” she said. “You kind of work until you die. You don’t get that nice cushy retirement. It’s called Social Security.”

She also praised Democrats for Medicaid and the ability to get insulin. “Democrats did that,” said Slisz. “Talk to your neighbor. Did you know my neighbor was a stout Republican? Did you know they voted for me? Did you know that they also voted for Trudy (Busch-Valentine) and Bethany? Why? Because we showed up. We knocked on their doors.”

Slisz noted that her sister, a devout Catholic Republican, voted for Mann because she knew Mann had the education to protect children. “That’s what we have to do; we have to get the truth out there. We have to get people excited about this. We have to look at it when they’re buying eggs and bitching because it’s $5 a dozen. I’m out here knee-deep in eggs because we’re not getting permits to actually sell our farm-fresh eggs.”

Slisz encouraged everyone to get out and vote Democrat.