Kansas Senate race on a knife edge as Democrats aim to end 94 years of Republican dominance
Kansas has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1932 – does Adam Hamilton have the courage, brain and heart to cause an extraordinary upset? Just two years after Donald Trump won Kansas by 16 points in his fight to regain the White House, Republicans in the state are scrambling to retain their dominance. The battle for one of its two seats in the US Senate is too close to call, setting the stage for a potentially…
Key points
- Democrat Adam Hamilton is in a too-close-to-call Kansas Senate race against Republican incumbent Roger Marshall.
- Kansas has not sent a Democrat to the US Senate since 1932.
- Hamilton, a United Methodist pastor, says he would answer to Kansans rather than a party.
The race for a US Senate seat in Kansas is too close to call, with some recent polls putting Democrat Adam Hamilton on course for a historic win. Kansas has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1932. Republicans in the state are scrambling to keep the seat held by incumbent Roger Marshall, two years after Donald Trump won Kansas by 16 points.
Hamilton's campaign pitch
Hamilton, senior pastor of the country's largest United Methodist congregation, often invokes Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz on the trail, saying Washington needs the courage, brain and heart her companions sought. He calls himself an independent-minded Democrat and says he is trying to win over independents and Republicans.
He decided to run after seeing the Trump administration act in ways he described as "not good or kind or compassionate or humble", and he has criticised Marshall for not standing up for Kansans. Marshall's record of suing hundreds of his patients over unpaid bills, which led to dozens of arrests, has also helped Hamilton's prospects, according to the article.
I'm running to be a champion for the people of Kansas: Republicans, Democrats and independents. I won't answer to a party, and I won't answer to any one person in Washington
— Adam Hamilton
What voters said
Voters at a Topeka forum said they valued Hamilton's accessibility, though some wanted more specific answers. Brennen Ross, a 20-year-old unaffiliated student, is leaning toward Hamilton and cited his effort to "turn the heat down" amid political polarisation.
Jacinta Bergkamp, a 30-year-old Democrat, said housing affordability, women's rights and abortion access matter to her vote, and that Kansans seem "fed up". Susana Ortiz, a counsellor, is still deciding, saying rising living costs are making people more open to voting across party lines.
