Democrat Lucas Kunce, who ran for Blunt's seat, will challenge Josh Hawley for U.S. Senate

Lucas Kunce, the U.S. Marine veteran and self-described populist who ran an unsuccessful primary campaign last year for U.S. Senate, is running for office again — launching a challenge against U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley in 2024.

Kunce, announcing his candidacy on the 2nd anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, will jump back into the fray months after an unsuccessful primary campaign for former U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt's seat. He lost the Democratic primary to billionaire Trudy Busch Valentine, who lost in November to Eric Schmitt.

Kunce will take on Hawley, who is facing re-election for the first time since his initial win in 2018. Kunce, who last year built a hard-charging, self-described populist campaign railing against corporations, government and institutional power, honed in on Hawley's activities on Jan. 6, 2021 in an online video launching his candidacy.

Kunce called Hawley a "fraud and a coward," highlighting the now infamous photo of him making a fist toward a crowd of U.S. Capitol protesters before the Jan. 6 riot and subsequent video footage of him fleeing the rioters once things turned violent.

"He hasn't had to run since he showed everybody what his true colors are and that he doesn't actually care," Kunce said in an interview. "We're going to hold him to that every single day."

Kunce, who was born and raised in Jefferson City, served as a Marine in Iraq before being stationed at the Pentagon. He now lives in Independence and works for the American Economic Liberties Project think tank.

His 2022 candidacy was largely divorced of support from the state's traditional Democratic Party structure — on his campaign website, he describes himself as a "different kind of Democrat." He remained the frontrunner for the party's nomination until Busch Valentine, the philanthropist daughter of August A. Busch Jr., joined the race and rode to victory in the primary.

"This time around, we're going to start with all of that (fundraising and network) already built in place," Kunce said. "I think that gives us a real advantage in any primary if there is one, but also in the general election."

Kunce is the first Democratic candidate to publicly announce for the 2024 seat, and if chosen as the nominee, will face a steep challenge against Hawley. The Republican now serving as Missouri's senior senator won election in 2018 against former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill by almost 6 percentage points. Since then, the political landscape in Missouri has not gotten easier for Democrats — Schmitt defeated Busch Valentine in November by more than 13 percentage points.

Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com, (573) 219-7440 or on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri Democrat Lucas Kunce to run for Senate against Josh Hawley