The magical place I grew up

Everyday people know how to take care of each other. I saw it myself. [Lucas Kunce for U.S. Senate] Hi {NAME}, it’s Lucas Kunce. Before I ask you to chip in toward my campaign’s first mid-month fundraising goal of 2024, I wanted to take some time to share a little bit more about the community I grew up in and why it inspired me to run for Missouri’s U.S. Senate seat. Will you please let me explain? [Photos of Lucas with family and friends in his old neighborhood.]( I grew up in a working-class neighborhood in mid-Missouri. It was one of those places where the curbs crumbled into the streets and the sidewalks were so tilted you couldn’t really walk on them — though they made a pretty good bike ramp for all of us kids. We all ran in and out of each other’s houses, everyone’s parents took care of everyone. It was a magical place to live. Like so many families, mine lived paycheck-to-paycheck — and when my little sister was born with a heart condition, we went bankrupt from medical bills. We got by thanks to the generosity of our community — most people had no more money than we did, but helped us anyway Our neighbors and friends took the rest of us kids into their homes while my parents were with my sister at the hospital over 100 miles away. And when we were all home together, they brought more meals by the house than we could ever hope to eat. Their support helped me go to college, and after that I joined the Marines to honor everything our community did for me and my family growing up. But when I came home between tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, I found that old magical place picked for parts — our local corner store was boarded up, our family’s first home in the neighborhood was bulldozed to the ground. Now it’s an empty lot: [Photo of empty lot in Jefferson City where Lucas' childhood home once stood.]( While all of us were risking our lives to build up towns like Habbaniyah, Fallujah, and Herat, career politicians and corporate elites like Josh Hawley let our towns and neighborhoods at home waste away. And then, after spending 20 years and $6.4 trillion on pointless forever wars and defense contractors, they couldn’t figure out how to invest a fraction of that amount back into our own country. I’m running for U.S. Senate because it’s time everyday Missourians — people who know how to take care of each other — called the shots in this country. [And today, I’m asking for your support to make it happen.]( [Photo of Lucas standing on the steps of the New Madrid County courthouse with local leaders.]( If you’re ready to take back power from the giant corporations and corrupt, career politicians who’ve waged economic warfare on our country, I need you on this team. [Can you add a $10 donation right now toward our mid-month goal of raising $150,000 so we’ll have the resources we need to get our message in front of voters and flip this U.S. Senate seat? I don’t take any money from corporate PACs, so I mean it when I say anything makes a big impact.]( If you've stored your info with ActBlue Express, we'll process your contribution instantly: [Contribute $10]( [Contribute $25]( [Contribute $30]( [Contribute $50]( [Contribute $100]( [Contribute $250]( [Give another amount]( Thanks for having my back in this fight, {NAME}. Together, we’ll take back power for working people and fundamentally change who calls the shots in our country. Let’s flip this seat, Lucas Kunce [Donate]( [Like on Facebook]( [Follow on Twitter]( [Follow on Instagram]( Paid for by Lucas Kunce for Missouri This email was sent to [{EMAIL}](#). Email is the most important way we keep in touch with people like you. But, if you'd like to receive fewer emails, [you can do so here](. If you need to remove yourself from our email list, [click here to unsubscribe](. Mail us: PO BOX 1240 Independence, MO 64050. Use of military rank, job titles, and photographs in uniform do not imply endorsement by the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense.