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JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey asked the Missouri State Fair Commission Tuesday to reconsider its unwillingness to host political debates during the annual state fair in Sedalia, saying its stance “flies in the face� of the First Amendment.

The commission on Friday said it is “unable to accommodate any request for political debates� after U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley days earlier challenged Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Lucas Kunce to a debate on the back of a trailer at the fair.

Bailey, in a letter to Kevin Roberts, the commission’s chairman, said, “Not only is it the right of speakers to engage in political speech, it is the fundamental right of the people to hear from their candidates on topics of political import.�

Roberts told the Post-Dispatch the “so-called debate� came “out of the dark with no official request to use the grounds. We still have not received a request from anybody to use the grounds.�

He said the commission received inquiries, not just about the U.S. Senate race but other races, and “it was just determined that we were going to get into a situation where ... it was going to detract from the fair.�

Roberts said politicians come onto the fairgrounds all the time but that the commission didn’t want to be in a situation where staff and others were spending “their whole time� trying to set up for multiple debates.

He said the commission doesn’t yet have an official comment on Bailey’s letter.

Roberts said Hawley “probably could� get on a crate and start shouting where ever he wants in the fair.

“That’s not what was being proposed,� Roberts said.

Gov. Mike Parson, who appoints the State Fair Commission, is scheduled to attend his final Governor’s Ham Breakfast and a state fair arena groundbreaking Thursday morning.

A political debate that same day could generate more media attention than the groundbreaking or Parson’s comments at the Ham Breakfast.

Roberts, asked if anyone from the governor’s office contacted him to put a stop to the debate, said the governor was aware of the inquiries being made, “but he did not give a directive to the State Fair Commission. He told us that he would support us in our decision.�

Asked what Parson’s preference was, Roberts said, “I’m not gonna share with you private conversations that the governor had.�

The groundbreaking, Roberts said, is “a big thing here at the state fair and again, we’ve got a lot of people that have put a lot of work into trying to organize all the things that are taking place around the fairgrounds.

“To have just of their own volition, and by fiat, say we’re gonna do this at this time — that just doesn’t work,� Roberts said.

As it stands, Hawley has agreed to appear at a debate hosted by the Missouri Farm Bureau near the state fairgrounds, even though Hawley had originally wanted to debate on the fairgrounds.

But Kunce has refused to join the Farm Bureau event, noting the Farm Bureau’s endorsement and financial backing of Hawley in the race.

Kunce’s campaign has said he has accepted multiple televised debate invitations and has accused Hawley of dodging a “real debate.�

Meanwhile, Elad Gross, Democrat for attorney general, said Tuesday Bailey won’t debate him and said he would debate Hawley.

“What do you say?� Gross asked Hawley on X, formerly Twitter. “Let’s see whose vision makes more sense to Missourians.�