Missouri GOP trashed for claiming Josh Hawley opponent has 'fake southern accent'

The Democrat running against Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is being criticized by Republicans for having a "fake southern accent." But St. Louis' Riverfront Times thinks that Lucas Kunce "sounds like Missouri."

The National Republican Senatorial Committee and conservative news website The Washington Free Beacon promoted a video of Kunce saying he sounds fake. The problem, the paper explained, is that the NRSC and Washington Free Beacon are in Washington, and their expertise on Missouri might be somewhat lacking.

"Kunce's accent doesn't change from clip to clip" the Times explained. "Nor does it sound particularly Southern. In all of them, he sounds like a guy from Missouri. If the ad proved anything, it's that whomever incumbent Senator Josh Hawley hired to make his attack ads really has no idea what a Southern accent — or a Missouri accent, for that matter — is supposed to sound like."

They noted that the response to the Republicans hasn't been very positive. One person responded by asking if they needed a "yoga mat for that stretch."

IN OTHER NEWS: Man had racist meltdown after nearly running over woman who was walking her service dog

Others simply ridiculed the RNC for thinking people from Missouri sound like they're from Virginia because that's where he actually lives. "But this is what Missouri sounds like."

The comments are a reference to a Kansas City Star editorial board post alleging Hawley "scoffs" at the residency requirements for Missouri candidates. Reports from the Star revealed that Hawley actually lives in a $1.3 million home in Northern Virginia and uses his sister's address in the Ozarks to vote.