Sen. Josh Hawley is featured in some of the most notorious imagery of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. But his actions that day — including pumping his fist in solidarity with the protesters before some of them broke police barricades — haven’t come up much in the closing weeks of his reelection bid.
It’s a change from the start of the race when Democratic challenger Lucas Kunce used those images in his campaign launch and even announced his candidacy on the anniversary of the insurrection. Now, Kunce’s campaign is focused on making a broader case that Hawley doesn’t deliver for his constituents.
“He’s out there shaking his fist, and the second things got real, he’s skittering out the back door as fast as he can,” Kunce told NOTUS. “Most people, they got lots of reasons why they don’t like Josh Hawley, frankly, and [Jan. 6] is just one piece of the puzzle.”