Dem Missouri prosecutor jockeys for opportunity to take on Hawley

The Democratic contest to take on combative GOP Sen. Josh Hawley next year is getting more crowded.

Wesley Bell, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney, is mounting a bid for the Democratic nomination in Missouri, he said in an interview on Tuesday. Bell will face Lucas Kunce, a Marine veteran, for the right to challenge Hawley in the 2024 general election.

And while Bell may need a major upset to defeat Hawley, the county prosecutor has a simple pitch to that end: He’s done it before. He defeated long-time incumbent Bob McCulloch in a 2018 primary, upending the party’s political establishment in the state’s most populous county.

“I took on a seven-term incumbent and no one thought we could win. And not only did we win, we won big, and we're gonna take that exact same approach to this campaign,” Bell said. “That's how we're going to win.”

Bell's launch video emphasizes his work quelling tensions between the police and protesters in Ferguson, Mo., and becoming the first Black prosecuting attorney in St. Louis County.

Missouri is a reach for Senate Democrats in a general election, but it’s one of their top three opportunities, along with Florida and Texas, in a map that has them almost entirely on defense. Still, given Hawley’s role in objecting to President Joe Biden’s election win and zeal for the culture wars, whoever wins the primary is likely to raise gobs of money and build national name recognition.

Bell’s one of the most prominent figures in the post-Ferguson Missouri Democratic Party, winning a seat on the Ferguson City Council in the aftermath of the police killing of Michael Brown. He then defeated McCulloch with a focus on criminal justice reform.

Bell declined to specifically compare himself to Kunce, but spoke of bridge-building, a “responsible” approach to reforming the filibuster and beating “the Democratic political establishment” with his 2018 campaign.

But Bell, in the interview, concentrated most of his criticism on Hawley, who Bell said is “looking to be Twitter famous.”

“I think he throws bombs but I don't think that he has any interest in real solutions,” he added.

A Hawley campaign spokesperson said that "we expect whoever emerges from the messy primary to be the darling of the woke left and raise tens of millions of dollars to try and buy this seat from Missourians.”

Getting out of the primary will take plenty of work — and money. Kunce already proved to have fundraising chops in the 2022 Senate race, raising $5 million but still losing the primary to Trudy Busch Valentine, who spent roughly $15 million of her own money. Valentine lost the general election by 13 points to Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.).

Kunce has raised $1 million in his first quarter of the 2024 race. His team touted an endorsement from the state's AFL-CIO on Wednesday, a sign of just how competitive the primary will be.

"This marks an important moment in the campaign as the state's election-winning labor movement unites behind Kunce, a 13-year Marine veteran who has promised to be a warrior for working people in the U.S. Senate," said Connor Lounsbury, an adviser to Kunce.

And though Democrats are eager to mobilize against Hawley, he’ll certainly start the race as a huge favorite over any Democratic nominee. Missouri is essentially red now, with former President Donald Trump winning the state by 15 points in 2020. A strong candidate could make the Senate race closer, but it would still be an uphill battle.

Hawley defeated former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) in 2018 by nearly 6 points. McCaskill in 2012 was the last Democrat to win a Senate race in Missouri, although Democrat Jason Kander came within 3 points of defeating former Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) in 2016.

Bell said he’s used to the underdog role and being doubted: “That's the exact same thing I was told when I ran for St. Louis County prosecutor.”

“The prognosticators, the insiders. Even some friends tell you there's no way that you can win,” he added. “We're not going to concede any places.”