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Kunce nabs endorsement from key environmental group

EXCLUSIVE — The League of Conservation Voters Action Fund has backed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Lucas Kunce. 

Wednesday’s endorsement comes during the environmental advocacy group’s first round of non-incumbent endorsements in the U.S. Senate for the 2022 midterm elections.

“As a veteran and national security professional, Lucas Kunce understands the importance of transitioning to a clean energy economy for the safety and security of our country and our communities,” LCV Action Fund Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld said in a statement. “He is committed to investing in Missouri to create the next generation of jobs in the clean energy industry, and he will fight to break up corporate monopolies that control our energy and agriculture sectors and contribute to the climate crisis. We could not be more excited to support his campaign for Senate.”

Kunce, a Cole County native, has focused on a populist message and has also been backed by  VoteVets PAC

Kunce brought in about $710,000 during the last fundraising cycle, ending 2021 with $810,000 cash on hand. He’s raised $2.5 million since launching his campaign. 

“As a 13-year Marine veteran, I was deployed to Iraq once, Afghanistan twice,” said Kunce. “I was later stationed at the Pentagon, where I helped lead arms control negotiations with NATO and Russia. Both of these experiences made it fundamentally clear to me that our addiction to fossil fuels is a threat to our economy, our national security, and our way of life. Politicians have let Big Ag, Big Oil, Defense Contractors, and Wall Street strip our communities and our planet for parts.” 

“Communities of color and rural communities have been paying the heaviest price for this political and economic corruption while the elites in power divide us over race, class, and religion,” Kunce continued. 

The League of Conservation Voters is an environmental advocacy group that endorses candidates who support climate change mitigation policies and other conservation issues. 

“This endorsement confirms what many Missourians have been hearing directly from Lucas Kunce — that he is focused on investing in the next generation of energy jobs right here in Missouri. Not on the coasts. And not run by foreign corporations,” Kunce’s deputy campaign manager and spokesman, Connor Lounsbury, told the Missouri Times. 

Former Sen. Scott Sifton, Tim Shepard, Spencer Toder, Gena Ross, and Jewel Kelly are also vying for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate.