We have the lead... but we could still lose.

This is important. Will you please let me explain why? [Lucas Kunce for U.S. Senate] Hi {NAME} — My name is Lucas Kunce. I’m a 13-year Marine veteran and the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in Missouri’s U.S. Senate race. Our record-breaking grassroots movement has the lead heading into the August 2 primary — but we could still lose. In a moment, I’m going to ask you to [chip in $10 or more to help us stay in the lead and flip this Senate seat.]( But first, please let me explain why. [Add a donation now]( In our broken system, wealthy elites can dump millions into any race without restriction. That’s what’s happening in Missouri. New FEC reports show our billionaire heiress opponent, Trudy Busch Valentine, has dumped $4 million of her family’s fortune to try and buy the Democratic nomination. Our primary is 9 days away. [Excerpt from the Missouri Independent that reads: On the Democratic side, Anheuser-Busch beer heiress Trudy Busch Valentine is outspending rival Lucas Kunce by almost 5-1 on television ads. Fueled by $4 million from her personal fortune, Valentine has spent $1.9 million on TV ads.]( When I say BUY the nomination, I don’t mean some kind of abstract campaign metaphor — I mean she’s trying to BUY it. This is a purposeful effort to avoid scrutiny from voters by instead flooding the state with TV ads. It’s a pattern that started with refusing to debate… Ducking voters for months… [Headline from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on the left that reads: Letter: Valentine's refusal to debate undermines her appeal. Headline from the Riverfront Times on the right that reads: Senate Candidate Trudy Busch Valentine Ducks Missouri Voters]( Failing to show up for Black and rural Missourians… [Headline from an op-ed in the Missouri Times that reads: Busch Valentine thinks rural Missourians don't matter. She's wrong. Excerpt from another op-ed in the Missouri Times written by Councilwoman Shalonda Webb and State Representative Rasheen Aldridge that reads: Lucas Kunce is the only candidate who's been showing up in our communities. We both represent majority Black districts and no Democrat can win this election without the support of our community. Votes aren't bought - they're earned. Lucas is doing the work to earn our votes... It's time Missouri had a working-class Senator who isn't afraid to fight for us.]( She’s brought the legacy of a white supremacist, anti-worker, elitist institution to our party’s U.S. Senate race — and lies to voters on the trail about her decades-long involvement with that organization. [Headline from The Intercept on the left that reads: Missouri Democrats' New Senate Candidate was Crowned Queen of Whites-Only Ball. Tweet on the left that reads: [Trudy] apologized while still lying about her involvement. She was still attending well into the 90s when she was an adult. We can't trust her. Includes a video of Trudy saying: You know, in my time, it was very racist.]( She owns stock in defense contractors, Big Pharma, and Wall Street banks – AND her family estate has hosted fundraisers for GOP candidates (including two of the top Republicans actively running for this U.S. Senate seat) and the NRA. [Headline from The Intercept that reads: Missouri Republican Senate Candidates Fundraised at Democratic Contender's Estate. At their family-owned farm, Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine's brothers hosted donors for Republicans Eric Greitens and Eric Schmitt.]( And for anyone still unsure that these flaws demand real scrutiny beyond her ability to self-fund a campaign, she also fares worse in the polls against our top Republican opponent — disgraced ex-Gov. Eric Greitens. [LATEST GENERAL ELECTION POLLING: Eric Greitens (R) leads Lucas Kunce (D) by <1% — The Trafalgar Group | March 2022. Eric Greitens (R) leads Trudy Busch Valentine (D) by +9% — Remington Research | April 2022. Margin of error for both polls is +/- 3%.]( We can’t miss this chance to flip Missouri’s U.S. Senate seat. We have to end the filibuster and save our democracy — and the stakes are far too high for us to lose to a criminal like Eric Greitens because we have a nominee running the same broken campaign we’ve seen year after year. Corruption. Endless wars. Price gouging. Jobs shipped overseas. Small businesses destroyed. Farmland bought up, sold off, and polluted by foreign oligarchs. We’ve seen what it’s like when billionaire elites and giant corporations call the shots in our economy and our elections. For decades, the American people have been victims of economic warfare waged by the most powerful people in our country. That’s why we need to send a warrior to the U.S. Senate who will fight back — not another billionaire, and not another criminal — and I’m ready to serve. I don’t have a family fortune. This campaign relies on real people like you, chipping in what they can, to help us keep up with our self-funding opponent so we can win the Democratic nomination, flip this seat, and end Big Money’s influence on our politics. [If you’re ready to join our grassroots movement to take back Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat and fundamentally change who has power in this country, please add a donation of any amount to my campaign today. I don’t take a single penny from corporate PACs, so I mean it when I say any amount means the world to me.]( If you've stored your info with ActBlue Express, we'll process your contribution instantly: [Contribute $10]( [Contribute $25]( [Contribute $30]( [Give another amount]( I'm fighting for an America where no one has to live one emergency away from disaster because, like most people, I've lived it. Back in Cole County, my family struggled paycheck-to-paycheck. When my sister was born with a heart condition, we went bankrupt from medical bills. Friends and neighbors came together to support us. Black and white, young and old, we all took care of each other — that’s where I come from. Their support helped me make it to college on a scholarship. Then, I joined the Marine Corps to honor the community that took care of me. Served active duty for 13 years. Deployed to Iraq once, Afghanistan twice. Later I was on the Joint Staff negotiating arms control agreements with NATO and Russia. And in my final year, I worked to upend the corporate defense monopolies that leave our country less safe. Between tours, one of the hardest things was coming back home and seeing what was going on in my old neighborhood. Our community had been stripped for parts. The corner store boarded up. Our first family home was bulldozed down. The whole time we were risking our lives, corrupt politicians in both parties were wasting trillions sending us out to fight their forever wars for oil — when we should have been investing in towns like St. Joe. St. Louis. Joplin. Fenton. Independence. Normandy. We can't afford to waste another decade “nation building” overseas while corporate elites destroy our communities and take control over anything and everything in our lives — now even our own bodies. I'm running for U.S. Senate to fight back. I'm running to Nation Build America. When I get there, I’ll fight to end our forever wars and invest in our forgotten communities. I’ll fight to rebuild the Midwest and put America first in renewable energy production. I’ll fight to break up giant corporations dominating our economy, abolish corporate PACs, and codify Roe v. Wade. I want to put everyday people in charge of our country. And I'm taking that message everywhere — from Palmyra to Joplin, from Hayti Heights to St. Joe, from St. Louis to Kansas City — so we can build a people-powered movement that can flip this seat and take our power back. And it’s resonating. That’s why we’ve outraised every Republican we're up against. It’s why we have grassroots supporters in every Missouri county. It's why we've put this race on the map. And it’s why people are fired up and ready to go. With $0 from corporate PACs, we've built a grassroots campaign to flip this Senate seat. Our mission? Put everyday people in charge of our country — and we need your help to get it done. So {NAME}: [Will you rush a donation of $10 or more to my campaign today? With only 9 days left until Missouri’s primary, this could be your chance to make a real difference in 2022.]( 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]( I’m glad to have you on my team, {NAME}. Let’s win this primary and flip Missouri’s U.S. Senate 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.