The encounter between the two candidates for U.S. Senate came during a breakfast gathering and after a week of fighting about debates.

Incumbent Republican Sen. Josh Hawley and his Democrat challenger Lucas Kunce were face-to-face at the ham breakfast, a fair tradition. They sparred verbally for several minutes over holding a debate at or near the fairgrounds. “Can you say yes to (a) Fox News (debate)?” Kunce repeatedly asked Hawley.

Voters in Missouri and Arizona will weigh in on reproductive rights in November, as the states join a growing list with the issue on the ballot.

Voters in more than a half dozen states will decide ballot measures on abortion rights this year, with potentially more to come

Lucas Kunce, Missouri’s Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, and Republican incumbent Josh Hawley were among politicians who attended the Governor’s Ham Breakfast at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia

Voters in at least seven states will decide referendums on abortion rights this year, with potentially more to come

The group, called the Missouri Freedom Caucus, could push the legislature further to the right and spark infighting among Republican senators, which has upended the General Assembly in recent years.

Missouri’s secretary of state also certified a proposition to raise the minimum wage and guarantee paid sick leave.

Missouri is the eighth state to put the abortion issue directly before voters in this year's general election.

Missouri voters will get to decide in November whether to enshrine abortion rights into their state's constitution.