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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Adam Hamilton, a Democrat and Methodist megachurch pastor, won a startling upset in Kansas over Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, flipping a seat once believed to be safely red in another example of how far unhappiness with President Donald Trump has spread throughout the nation.
Hamilton’s victory was historic for snapping a 94-year losing streak in Senate races for Kansas Democrats — the nation’s longest — and because spending on the campaign was around $110 million, easily a record in low-cost Kansas. Republicans attempted a massive rescue effort for Marshall, including two Trump rallies in the state in October, but weren’t able to save his attempt at a second term.
“This is amazing. We really did make history,” Hamilton told his supporters. “We’re not flyover country. We’re the heart of the country.”
In his concession speech in Wichita, Marshall said, “I don’t have any answers” and promised to “keep fighting for this great nation.” He called serving in the Senate “the great honor of my life.”
Hamilton won among the state’s moderate voters, with roughly 7 in 10 backing him over Marshall. Marshall only won about one-quarter of this group, down from about 4 in 10 in 2020, according to the AP Voter Poll.
Also, roughly 8 in 10 voters under 30 backed Hamilton. Marshall split that group with his Democratic opponent during his first Senate race in 2020.
Hamilton appealed to voters frustrated with the rising cost of living and unhappy with Trump’s handling of the economy and the war with Iran. He also promised to combat the intense partisanship in Washington. In his victory speech from a Kansas City-area hotel, Hamilton said people were also upset with cuts in health care and food assistance, and President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“I think the people in Kansas, Republicans and Democrats, are saying that what’s happening in Washington is not OK,” Hamilton said. “Kansans are also fed up with the way politicians divide us.”
Hamilton’s fundraising far outstripped Marshall’s — particularly when it came to contributions from Kansas residents — and Democratic groups poured tens of millions of dollars into the state. It helped the party overcome efforts by Trump and Vice President JD Vance to animate Trump’s political base with rallies down the stretch in Kansas.
Hamilton is the founding pastor of the 25,000-member Church of the Resurrection in the Kansas City area, the nation’s largest United Methodist congregation. He brought to the race a centrist persona, a knack for fundraising and a public profile as the author of several dozen books.
Democrats flip a longtime GOP Senate seat in Kansas
Marshall, a retired obstetrician, was elected to the House in 2016 and won his Senate seat in 2020. He remained loyal to Trump throughout the campaign, defending both the war and Trump’s tariffs.
Republicans spent the final few weeks of the campaign pounding home a traditionally winning message for them: that voting for the Democratic nominee would put liberal Democrats in charge of the Senate. While visiting Topeka, Vance called Hamilton “Chuck Schumer’s stooge,” though Hamilton said repeatedly that he would not support keeping the New York senator as Democratic leader.
With only a nominal primary challenge, Marshall’s campaign didn’t start its ads until late August and his fundraising lagged. Republicans, worried about the national attention that Hamilton was drawing, shifted millions of dollars from North Carolina to Kansas.
Echoing Trump, Marshall blamed high fuel prices on Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure in their war. He repeatedly told voters that the economy was strong and has improved under Trump.
He also faced attacks alleging he had abandoned Kansas to live in Florida. Marshall said he owned a vacation home in Florida so he could spend time with family. Marshall sold the property last month.
Hamilton’s victory bucked decades of Kansas history
The last Democrat to win a Senate race in Kansas was George McGill, a Wichita attorney, in 1932. There hadn’t even been a truly close race since 1974, when future Republican icon Bob Dole won a second term by less than 2 percentage points following the Watergate scandal that forced President Richard Nixon from office.
Republicans portrayed Hamilton as too “woke” for Kansas, in part by highlighting his church’s support for LGBTQ rights. In the campaign’s final weeks, they also focused on two cases of alleged sexual abuse of teenage boys by an adult leader at annual camps for Hamilton’s church, one each in 2005 and 2006.
The church investigated the first incident in 2005 but did not report it to law enforcement when the victims couldn’t positively identify the perpetrator, and the man returned for the 2006 camp. The second incident was reported to law enforcement and the church turned over its records on the first case, but the local prosecutor did not pursue criminal charges.
The church changed its child protection policies and since the 2005 case has required all incidents to be reported to law enforcement. Hamilton acknowledged that it was a mistake for the church not to report the first incident in 2005 and for him to not personally check to see that the man didn’t return in 2006.
However, along with Trump’s drop in popularity nationally, Hamilton benefitted from a recent shift in Kansas politics.
Although the state is often viewed as ruby red, there’s a sizable bloc of moderate voters who have regularly swung governor’s races to Democrats. Suburbs near Kansas City, Missouri, have become increasingly blue, making it easier for Democrats to win statewide races by carrying just the most populous counties.
Hamilton positioned himself in the political center
Hamilton’s comments about Schumer demonstrated the balance he sought to strike in wooing independent and Republican voters. He made a point of describing himself as “independent-minded” and positioned himself as a potential moderate counterweight in Washington.
In another example, he criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during an event in Topeka but stopped short of calling to abolish the agency.
“They were formed to make sure that people didn’t fly airplanes into buildings again,” he said, referencing the Sept. 11 terror attacks. “If they stick to what they were created for, I’m grateful for them.”
His campaign also hammered Marshall — who uses “Doc” on his stationery — over questions about how he pursued unpaid patient bills before he won a U.S. House seat in 2016.
The New York Times reported that Marshall and his practice sued more than 700 patients during his decades-long medical career. In 81 cases, patients were arrested for missing court dates, and two experts called his tactics extreme, according to the report. During a televised debate, Marshall called attacks on him a “gross mischaracterization” of his professional record.
Many voters appeared concerned about Marshall’s character because of questions about his past debt-collection practices, AP VoteCast found. A slim majority said Marshall did not have the right personal character to serve in the Senate.
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This story has been updated to correct that Marshall was elected to the House in 2016, not 2017.
John Hanna, The Associated Press
