There are roughly 10 Senate races to watch on Election Day, and not surprisingly, the race between Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and his Democratic opponent, Lucas Kunce, is not one of them - not even on the "bonus races to watch" list compiled a month ago by the New York Times.

The reasons for that are fairly obvious. Missouri has become a reliably red state, and though there hasn't been a ton of polling in the Hawley-Kunce race, all available information shows Hawley firmly in the lead, including the most recent poll, from mid-August, showing him 11 points ahead as we head into the fall election campaign season.

SEE ALSO: Josh Hawley Wrecks Acting Secret Service Director Over Agency's Trump Assassination Attempt Posturing

Since the July assassination attempt on GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, Hawley has been a man on a mission, determined to get to the bottom of the Secret Service's failure to protect the former president and why.  

On Tuesday, the Senator revealed a whistleblower informed him that "most of the agents at the Trump rally the day of the assassination attempt were Homeland Security NOT Secret Service — and the only training they received was a 2-hour online 'webinar'!"

But when Hawley has not been busy digging into the abject failures of July 13th, he's been enjoying needling Kunce, which is exactly what happened after a story that broke Wednesday from the Daily Caller regarding private text messages and emails that show Kunce praising Hawley's Senate actions to the hilt:

Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley’s Democratic opponent Lucas Kunce has repeatedly praised the Senator’s questioning on national security issues, his grilling of corporate executives and his questioning of then Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, according to private messages obtained by the Daily Caller.

Text messages and an email obtained by the Caller show that Kunce praised Hawley’s “awesome” “grilling” of corporate executives such as Microsoft’s Brad Smith on issues of China and national security. In one text, Kunce wrote “Glad to have someone else caring about this stuff” and “it was awesome, yes, he was nailing the points.” 

Naturally, Hawley got a big kick out of the news:

Lucas Kunce - I had no idea he was such a fanboy. Thanks for all the support, Lucas! https://t.co/EpfwvDrFJY

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 5, 2024

You know, if @LucasKunceMO wanted to be a staffer for me, he could have just applied! https://t.co/EpfwvDsdzw

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 5, 2024

Ouch!

And speaking of needling Kunce, Hawley did just that during the Governor's Ham Breakfast event in Missouri in mid-August, walking around looking for Kunce and challenging him to a debate on the spot, which Kunce declined:

Reporter: what’s your reaction to [Kunce refusing to debate]?

Josh: I just think it’s sad that he is unwilling to debate. He’s been in his basement for 2 weeks… insulting the farm bureau… in a farm state!

Lucas: *awkwardly shuffles around in the background refusing to debate* pic.twitter.com/YnfPDZEWqX

— Abigail Jackson 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) August 15, 2024

As of this writing, there's been no agreement between the two camps on televised debates, but I must admit I'd tune in just for the comedic value alone.  As always, stay tuned!

Flashback: Josh Hawley Smoothly Dunks Hysterical Pro-Hamas Code Pinker in Senate Hallway Clash