Democrat Adam Hamilton Ousts Sen. Roger Marshall, Ending 94-Year GOP Senate Streak in Kansas
Democrat Adam Hamilton, a Methodist megachurch pastor who has never held public office, defeated Republican Sen. Roger Marshall on Tuesday, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Kansas since 1932.
The Associated Press called the race at 11:24 p.m. Eastern, with Hamilton leading 51.9% to 45.2% and 91% of the vote counted. NBC News also projected Hamilton the winner.
The result snapped a 94-year Senate losing streak for Kansas Democrats, the longest in the nation, the AP reported. Spending in the race reached about $110 million, a record for Kansas.
President Donald Trump carried Kansas by more than 16 points in 2024, and Marshall won his first Senate race by 11 points in 2020. The last Democrat to win was George McGill, a Wichita attorney.
“This is amazing. We really did make history,” Hamilton told 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.”
A Rescue Effort Fell Short
Republicans shifted millions of dollars from North Carolina to Kansas, and Trump held two rallies in the state in October. The president also announced an $8 billion farm diesel relief program, the Washington Examiner reported.
Democrats still outspent Republicans on the airwaves, $59.9 million to $42.3 million, according to AdImpact figures cited by the Daily Caller. The Senate Leadership Fund, a GOP super PAC, spent $14 million.
Hamilton ran on the rising cost of living, high diesel and fuel prices tied to the war with Iran, and Trump’s tariffs. “Kansans are also fed up with the way politicians divide us,” he said Tuesday night.
He kept his distance from national Democrats. “I’m not running against President Trump,” he said during an October debate. Vice President JD Vance called him “Chuck Schumer’s stooge,” but Hamilton said he would not back Schumer as leader.
Hamilton was registered as a Republican until earlier this year and won endorsements from GOP former Govs. Bill Graves and Mike Hayden, NBC News reported. He also served on former President Barack Obama’s faith advisory council.
Marshall, a retired obstetrician, was hurt by a New York Times report that he and his practice sued more than 700 patients over unpaid bills. He called the attacks a “gross mischaracterization” of his record, the AP reported.
Republicans cast Hamilton as too “woke” for Kansas and highlighted his church’s handling of alleged abuse at church camps in 2005 and 2006. Hamilton acknowledged the church erred by not reporting the first case to police.
About 7 in 10 moderate voters backed Hamilton, according to the AP Voter Poll, and roughly 8 in 10 voters under 30 supported him. Marshall had split young voters with his Democratic opponent in 2020.
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