Twenty years of Republican control of the legislature has failed Missouri, giving it the most extreme abortion restrictions in the country and a child care system in crisis, Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Crystal Quade said in a debate Friday.

Hawley and Kunce went back and forth on issues spanning from abortion rights to energy policy, each accusing the other of lying about their record.

The state Supreme Court last week issued an order keeping the proposed state constitutional amendment – called Amendment 3 – on the Nov. 5 ballot. The judges’ decision came hours before a deadline to finalize the ballot and they didn’t explain their reasoning at the time.

Abortion rights remained on Missouri’s Nov. 5 ballot by the slimmest of margins, according to opinions released Friday by the Missouri Supreme Court.

There are no incumbents in the race to become Missouri's 58th governor. Gov. Mike Parson, who served in the role since June 2018, is not running again. There are four candidates in the race: Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican; state Rep. Crystal Quade, a Democrat; Bill Slantz, a Libertarian; and Paul Lehmann, of the Green Party.

The majority opinion was written by Judge Paul Wilson, with Chief Justice Mary Russell, Judge Robin Ranson and Judge Brent Powell concurring.

In addition to the presidential election, Missouri voters will pick a governor and vote on several high-interest ballot measures.

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley traded jabs with Democratic challenger Lucas Kunce Friday afternoon in a debate hosted by the Missouri Press Association at the organization's annual convention in Springfield.

Missouri has 506,575 inactive voters as of August 2024, according to data provided by the Secretary of State’s Office. That’s approximately 12% of all registered voters.

The candidates for Missouri governor are set to debate Friday afternoon at the Missouri Press Association's annual convention.

After weeks of tussling between the two campaigns, Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley and Democrat Lucas Kunce are finally set to square off in a televised debate less than a week before voters head to the polls.