[1]Lucas Kunce for U.S. Senate

John,

It’s been 10 days since the election and I’ve had a lot to think about.

The thing that I’ve thought about the most is how incredible and
supportive everyone was out on the campaign trail, both physical and
virtual.

I can’t count the number of people who gave us friendship bracelets and
cookies, welcomed us into their homes, donated, and thanked us for the
work we did in this race.

[1]Marilyn showing off some of our bracelets. Marilyn showing off some of
our bracelets

[2]Cookies! Cookies!

It’s true that it’s very hard for a normal person to run for office in
this country, especially if, like we did, you choose not to sell out. I
had to quit my job, live off of savings, and on the road for a couple of
years, which was a real challenge. But it never felt like a sacrifice,
because so many of you were behind us and because we stood for something
real.

I’ll send out a more thorough review of the campaign, and what we
accomplished together, soon. But here are some toplines.

[3]Independence, MO Independence, MO

[4]Festus, MO Festus, MO

Background

* We built a historic grassroots movement, with support from nearly
250,000 individual donors and Missourians in all 114 counties and the
City of St. Louis
* We received zero dollars from the national party, corporate PACs,
federal lobbyists, or Big Pharma and Big Oil executives
* Unlike recent Democratic candidates for Senate in Missouri who
received tens of millions of dollars in external support, we received
almost none
* We were outspent on TV thanks to the millions of dollars raised for
Josh Hawley by DC insiders like Senator John Cornyn, as well as
millions of dollars in attack ads from a billionaire-funded Super PAC
supporting Hawley
* Being outspent and not having the same backup that Hawley got meant we
had to target our spending to just four of Missouri’s ten media
markets, largely on TV and digital — the need to both get our message
out and defend ourselves on air in those four media markets made it
impossible to afford things like a proper mail program or rural radio.
Our goal was to produce a strong number of ticket-splitting voters in
the exurban counties around Kansas City and St. Louis, as well as
parts of central and southern Missouri

[ [link removed] ]Screengrab of TV ad titled 'Protect' This was one of our longest
running ads. It highlighted my family struggling through bankruptcy, how
our community took care of us, and how now communities like where I grew
up have been stripped for parts and left behind. It also highlighted my
commitment to rebuilding our state and restoring power and freedom to
everyday people.

[ [link removed] ]Screengrab of TV ad titled 'Secure, Protect, Invest' This was our
closing ad of the campaign. It highlighted how my opponent was getting
rich while the rest of us struggled, and my commitment to investing in
Missourians.

Results

[7]Nationwide map of 2024 Democratic Senate Candidates vs Kamala Harris (%
Margins) from the Center for Politics

* We outperformed the margin in the presidential race and other
statewide races by roughly 5% to 10% across the board — a better
performance than many Democratic candidates for Senate around the
country this cycle. We even achieved a similar margin to several
states that received significantly more attention and financial
support
* We received roughly the same number of votes that previous competitive
Democratic statewide candidates in Missouri have gotten in the last
10-15 years — but also saw a return of the boosted GOP turnout in a
presidential cycle that we first saw in 2020, with a couple hundred
thousand more GOP voters compared to 2016
* In many targeted counties where we were able to spend to compete, like
Jefferson, Ray, and Iron, we outperformed the presidential ticket’s
margin by roughly 10% or more
* We received more votes in St. Louis City than any other statewide
candidate, and more votes in Kansas City than even the presidential
ticket
* In places where we didn’t have the resources to introduce me to
voters, like in the Hannibal media market for example, the margins in
our race were much closer to standard partisan breakdowns — comparing
those results to where we were able to advertise shows just how
effective our message was when we were able to get it out
* We thankfully still saw citizen-led initiatives to end Missouri’s
total abortion ban, raise the minimum wage, and establish paid sick
leave succeed on the statewide ballot

[8]Wentzville, MO Wentzville, MO

[9]Springfield, MO Springfield, MO

We have a lot to be proud of. When we were able to introduce my background
and ideas to people, we really over-performed. In a better year, with the
resources to compete statewide, that could change.

No matter the final result, I will always know that if votes were weighted
by enthusiasm, we would have won in a landslide. You showed up,
consistently, to give us the best fighting chance possible. I am so
grateful to everyone who dug deep, helped spread the word, and kept us in
the game.

[10]Photo of Lucas, Marilyn, and Harvey in front of a crowd of supporters
in St. Louis.

More to follow.

Thank you for everything.
Lucas


 


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Paid for by Lucas Kunce for Missouri.

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