Kansas Has Not Sent a Democrat to the Senate Since 1932 — Pastor Adam Hamilton Vows to 'Fight Like Hell' in Historic Bid

Kansas has not sent a Democrat to the US Senate since 1932. Nearly a century later, Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton is trying to change that history — and some recent polls put him on course for an extraordinary upset.

Just two years after Donald Trump won Kansas by 16 points in his fight to regain the White House, Republicans in the state are scrambling to retain their dominance. The battle for one of its two Senate seats is too close to call, setting the stage for a potentially extraordinary upset in a state long seen as safely Republican.

Hamilton is the senior pastor of the country's largest United Methodist congregation, a role that brings him name recognition and speaking skills. His opponent's liabilities have also helped: Republican incumbent Senator Roger Marshall sued hundreds of his patients for unpaid bills, resulting in the arrests of dozens of them.

On the campaign trail, Hamilton regularly points to one of his state's most famous residents: Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. Recalling a visit to Liberal, Kansas, and its Oz museum, he reminds audiences what Dorothy's companions needed — the lion needed courage, the scarecrow a brain and the tin man a heart.

Washington needs more of all three, he says, and he can deliver it. He decided to run after seeing the Trump administration act in ways that were, in his words, ‘not good or kind or compassionate or humble’. Speaking to business leaders in Topeka on Friday, he said he had been waiting for Marshall to stand up for his state and its people.

‘I would have arguments with Roger Marshall in the shower. He was not in the shower with me,’ Hamilton joked. ‘And I would just say, Roger, please stand up for your people. You were not hired to be a spokesperson for the White House. You were hired to fight for your people.’

Electorally, Hamilton is trying to win over independents and Republicans, calling himself an independent-minded Democrat. It would be valuable, he argues, for Kansas to have a Democrat like him and a Republican in Jerry Moran representing them in the Senate — working both sides of the aisle.

In a video welcoming Trump to Kansas, Hamilton said he hoped the president would hear from people struggling with rising costs and uncertainty, and told Kansans they all had a place in his campaign regardless of party. ‘I'm running to be a champion for the people of Kansas: Republicans, Democrats and independents. I won't answer to a party, and I won't answer to any one person in Washington,’ he said. ‘I answer to you.’

He frequently shares stories of everyday Kansans he has met on the trail, from the woman whose health insurance premiums cost as much as her mortgage, so she had to drop coverage, to the farmer who cried over the state of the industry for young farmers.

In Topeka, voters were open to the pitch. Brennen Ross, a 20-year-old political science and economics student at Washburn University, said the cost of housing, the job market for people his age and the availability of water in rural Kansas weigh on his mind — but the first issue he mentioned was Hamilton's effort to ‘turn the heat down’ amid rising political polarization, which he said resonates with many younger Kansans.

Jacinta Bergkamp, a 30-year-old Democrat with a young professional group called Forge Young Talent, asked both candidates about housing affordability. ‘Usually it feels a little, I guess, lonely to be a Democrat in Kansas,’ she said. ‘We always kind of think of Kansas as being purple. Kansas isn't red or blue … It's very clear that Kansas is more liberal than what people think outside of Kansas.’

Boutique owner Linda Murphy Maina said she looks for which candidates are good for the people, and felt Hamilton homed in on working together and helping people. Counselor Susana Ortiz said more people seem frustrated with the rising cost of living, which allows them to be more open-minded about voting across party lines.

Hamilton told the Topeka business leaders that Marshall had not done a good job of listening, noting the last open town hall Marshall held was about 600 days ago, when he left after facing pointed questions; Marshall has said the town halls became ‘non-productive and dangerous’. Hamilton said he cannot sing, is bad at golf and was a horrible football player — his superpower is that he listens, he really cares, and he has a propensity to fight for people. ‘I'm gonna just fight like hell for the people in Kansas,’ he said.