This just in: Josh Hawley has a new set of wheels. Courtesy of money funneled into his reelection campaign.
The fist-pumping, quick-footed, anti-LGBTQ+ Missouri senator raked in a reported $2.5 million in the first quarter of 2024. To celebrate, he went to his local Buick/GMC dealership and dropped almost $75,000 on a new vehicle, according to FEC filings.
The Kansas City Star reports:
One of Hawley’s higher ticket costs was a vehicle from a car dealership outside of St. Louis. The campaign’s filing with the Federal Elections Commission did not disclose the make or model of the vehicle, but on the dealership’s website, the price tag is in the range of a GMC Yukon.
Hawley’s campaign declined to comment on the car, but it could be an attempt to save money in the long run. Statewide campaigns often put lots of mileage on vehicles and, rather than rent a car for each trip, it could help bring down the cost over the course of a long campaign.
But not everything is as it seems.
Hawley’s $2.5 million fundraising haul might look impressive at first glance. But it turns out, over $1.5 million of it was just a money transfer from his victory committee to his reelection campaign. It didn’t come from individual donors or even Missouri voters.
His pro-LGBTQ+ Democratic opponent, Lucas Kunce, was quick to point this out on Twitter X.
Kunce, a 13-year Marine vet who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, first rose to gay political prominence when he ran for Senate in 2022 and he shared a photo of himself running in a pair of short-shorts… sparking an online fury.
Though widely considered the underdog in the race, Kunce’s campaign just announced it pulled in over $2.25 million in the first quarter of 2024, setting a new record for a Senate challenger in the state and bringing his total cash on hand up to $3.3 million.
Unlike Hawley, who hates gay people, 41-year-old Kunce supports outlawing conversion therapy at the federal level and has said he would support the Equality Act. He has also vowed to help end violence against trans people and stand up for gender affirming care for trans youth.
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