The Rev. Adam Hamilton defeated Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, NBC News projects, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the ruby-red state since 1932.
President Donald Trump’s surprise state victory won by 16 points in the 2024 election gives Democrats a major boost in the fight for a Senate majority.
Hamilton, pastor of the nation’s largest Methodist congregation, has never held public office and was registered as a Republican until earlier this year. Despite Kansas’ conservative history, it became a key battleground in the latter part of the race. Facing growing backlash over Trump’s handling of the economy, Republican outside groups were forced to divert millions of dollars to support Marshall. Democratic groups have also responded with their own ads. Running as a moderate, Hamilton, 62, has garnered support from both parties, including from former GOP governors. Bill Graves and Mike Hayden. He had served on former President Barack Obama’s religious advisory board and preached at his inaugural prayer service in 2013.
Hamilton and his allies hit Marshall, 66, over high prices resulting from the war in Iran and Trump’s tariff program, as well as cuts to health care under the “big, beautiful bill” that Republicans passed last year. Rising diesel fuel and beef prices have hit Kansas’ agricultural economy particularly hard.
Democrats noted that Marshall repeatedly voted against resolutions intended to end the conflict until Congress authorized it. They also brought up comments from April where, in response to rising gas prices, Marshall said national security was “even more important than your wallet.”
Still, Marshall hasn’t distanced himself from Trump as much as Republicans in tough races before the election, even though he demanded in September that federal immigration agents work with local law enforcement.
Marshall, an obstetrician-gynecologist, also came under fire in September after The New York Times reported that he had sued hundreds of patients for unpaid bills, resulting in dozens of arrest warrants for missing court dates. Marshall’s attorney said that although the senator set the 18 percent interest rate on the bills, he was not involved in the warrants or arrests. Marshall called the story “a sure hit.”
Before winning his first Senate term by 11 points in 2020, Marshall served two terms in the House.
While Kansas has not had a Democratic senator in nearly 90 years, a Democrat, Laura Kelly, served the last two terms as the state’s governor.
Gn usa
