Kansans are sending Democrat Adam Hamilton to the U.S. Senate, the first time they've sent a Democrat to the chamber since 1932. President Trump won Kansas with a double-digit margin in each presidential election since 2016, but Kansans also elected a moderate Democrat to the governor's office, then reelected her in that same time period, showing the state is not a Republican stronghold at all levels.
Hamilton, the pastor of the largest United Methodist church in the country, preached a moderate approach, and emphasized listening to both sides. This year's contest ended up being the most expensive in Kansas history, with Hamilton breaking multiple fundraising records. Hamilton flirted with running as an independent, but decided to run as an 'independent-minded Democrat.' Supporters worried if he ran as an independent, he'd split the votes with the Democratic candidate and ultimately send Marshall back to Washington.
Andi Welch, from Johnson County, Kansas doesn't always vote for the Democrat on the ballot, but she voted for Hamilton on Election Day. 'I think he's going to be fair,' Welch said. 'I think he's running as a Democrat for the reasons he states, and I think he really is going to be looking out for Kansas citizens.' Hamilton's call for term limits, critiques of national Democrats and endorsements from prominent Kansas Republicans resonated with Kansans.
The New York Times reported that Marshall, who worked as an OB-GYN before being voted to the U.S. House in 2016, sued 700 of his former patients for medical debt. Hamilton's campaign used one of those former patients in an attack ad, and five days before Election Day that patient sued Marshall for allegedly charging a predatory interest rate. Marshall's campaign, for its part, bet heavily on an attack ad surrounding claims that Hamilton protected a pedophile. A church camp volunteer reportedly attempted to sexually abuse boys at one of Hamilton's church camps, and returned the following year where he did so again.
Court records show that the church's initial investigation into the boys' report was inconclusive, and Hamilton later said in a debate he was not involved in the decision to allow the volunteer to return. Church leaders called the authorities after the second report, but Hamilton said they should've called police after the first. National Republicans also turned their focus to the state, betting that the remaining undecided voters, which made up about 8% of the electorate in September, according to an Emerson College poll, were Trump voters who just needed encouragement to get out and vote. The president and vice president each visited the state twice this election season.
Still, polls trended in Hamilton's favor, Emerson's by a wider margin than before their visits. Hamilton notably avoided association with national Democrats, which aligns with his 'independent-minded' Democrat stance. Though his campaign took $5 million from a political action committee associated with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Hamilton said he wouldn't support Schumer for another leadership position. In their final debate before Election Day, Marshall sought to tie Hamilton to Schumer 15 times. Hamilton, meanwhile, leaned into a Kansas-first approach, a message that appealed to voters.
