Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and Democrat Adam Hamilton faced off Wednesday night in a contentious debate as polls show a showdown in ruby-red Kansas with less than two weeks until Election Day.
Marshall and Hamilton traded criticisms and attacks over the war in Iran, immigration control, health care and tariff policy, and other controversies that arose during their unexpected battlefield campaign.
Hamilton, a megachurch pastor and first-time candidate, introduced himself as an “independent-minded Democrat.”
“I am not someone who favors the Socialist Party,” he said. “I’m someone who falls in the middle. I’m going to try to work for all Kansans, Republicans, independents and Democrats.”
Marshall warned viewers not to buy it, repeatedly singling out Hamilton as an ally of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Marshall mentioned Schumer 17 times during the hour-long debate.
“My opponent is going to say whatever he can to lie to get into this position and give control to Chuck Schumer,” Marshall said, although Hamilton promised he would not support Schumer for party leader if elected.
At the opening of the platform, the two candidates were confronted with questions about the controversies weighing on their campaign. Marshall pushed back against reports that he sued hundreds of patients for unpaid medical bills while he was a practicing doctor, calling the allegations “blatant lies.”
Hamilton was pressed on whether his church was properly handling reports of child sexual abuse. Hamilton has denied any wrongdoing and a report from the Kansas City Star found that the church conducted an internal investigation into the incident and reported the suspect to police.
“We made sure the police found out,” Hamilton said. “Later, when they did, they investigated. They found the same thing. It was inconclusive. It was uncertainty, and as a result, they also declined to press charges.”
Hamilton denied approving the suspect’s return to the church camp, but said during the debate: “I should have checked to make sure he wasn’t coming back. It was a mistake on my part.”
Marshall defended the core of President Donald Trump’s agenda throughout the night, including his recent deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports. He also defended Trump’s tariffs on U.S. allies.
“Tariffs work,” Marshall said, adding that tariff policy is leading to a “manufacturing renaissance” because jobs are coming back to the United States.
Hamilton countered that tariffs alienate trading partners and allies. “It creates instability, chaos and corruption,” he said.
Hamilton criticized Marshall for supporting the war in Iran “again and again”, while Marshall said he wanted to see the conflict end “as soon as possible”.
Marshall blamed Ukraine for high gas prices.
“The real problem with the cost of diesel, especially No. 1 diesel, is the war in Ukraine, and because of that, diesel production has declined,” he said. “But beyond that, why are we dependent on diesel imports? It’s because of the Green New Deal policies that my opponent supports.”
When asked to cite one point of disagreement with Trump, Marshall pointed to a series of ICE raids targeting meatpacking plants in southwest Kansas. Marshall said he called Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to tell him the action was “not quite right,” and he publicly urged ICE to do a better job of coordinating with local law enforcement.
Marshall compared his relationship with Trump to his relationship with his wife.
“Just like with my wife, I can disagree with her. Now, my wife is always right, and President Trump is not always right,” he said. “But I think we… it’s great to have a relationship where I can pick up the phone and talk to him about the pros and cons of what he’s considering.”
Republicans are pouring resources into the race to prevent Hamilton from becoming Kansas’ first Democratic senator in nearly a century. Trump headlined a rally near Wichita on Monday to drum up support for Marshall, while a Republican super PAC launched a $14 million negative ad blitz targeting Hamilton.
“I hate to say it — you’re kind of trending toward purple,” Trump told his audience at the rally Monday. “We will re-elect Roger Marshall, one of the greatest, and we will defeat the corrupt communists, jihadists and anti-American lunatics once and for all.”
Wednesday’s meeting between Marshall and Hamilton was their second and final debate. Marshall was greeted with boos and chants during their first debate last month at the Kansas State Fair.
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