Methodist Pastor Adam Hamilton’s entry into the race for U.S. Senate as a Democrat in deeply red Kansas has sparked a lot of attention.
On Friday morning, he popped up on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe”, where panelists likened him to James Talarico, a Democrat running in Texas.
Then, on Monday, Hamilton’s campaign crowed about the more than $1 million he had raised in just four days as an official candidate, most of it coming from 68 of Kansas’s 105 counties.
Meanwhile, the Kansas Republican Party put out a release that called Hamilton the “likely Senate nominee,” and noted that if he wins the primary, the Democrats running for Senate, governor and the Third District U.S. House of Representatives seat will likely all be from Johnson County.
“They are trying to silence the voices of rural Kansans. We won’t allow that to happen,” the release said. (A spokesperson for Roger Marshall did not respond to the Post’s request for comment.)
It’s early and late at the same time for Hamilton’s Senate bid. Early because his campaign has only been official for a few days. Late because eight other Democrats have already been campaigning while Hamilton was making up his mind.
An uphill battle for Democrats
Even as a latecomer to a crowded field, Hamilton is going to be taken seriously, says Greg Vonnahme, chair of the University of Missouri, Kansas City department of political science.
“This is something I think is going to get on Republicans’ radars, and I think his candidacy is one they’re going to take seriously,” he said.
Hamilton, like several other Democratic candidates, has never held political office before.
“Normally that strongly favors an incumbent,” Vonnahme said. But because Hamilton has a base of support, name recognition and experience running a large organization (his Resurrection church in Leawood has 20,000 members), he has a skill set that sets him apart, he added.
Who is running for U.S. Senate in Kansas?
Republican
SEN. ROGER MARSHALL, incumbent first elected in 2020
Democratic
CHRISTY DAVIS, former USDA official in the Biden administration
JASON HART, former federal prosecutor
ADAM HAMILTON, pastor
ERIK MURRAY, real estate developer
ANNE PARELKAR, immigration attorney
PATRICK SCHMIDT, state senator from Topeka
MICHAEL SOETAERT, former Wellington city councilmember
SANDY SPIDEL NEUMANN, retired financial services executive
NOAH TAYOR, Army veteran and small business consultant
But Vonnahme cautioned it’s too early to know if all that will translate into “a five-alarm fire where you’re going to see national money just dumping into Kansas.” After all, Kansas hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1932.
Political forecasters still see Kansas as a good bet for Republican incumbent Roger Marshall to win. Sabato’s Crystal Ball of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, still has Kansas firmly in the red zone, as does prediction market Kalshi.
It’s also early for opinion polls on the race. A poll done by Tavern Research Inc. in January showed Marshall with an approval rating of 37%. It gave Hamilton an edge — 51% to Marshall’s 49% — if Hamilton ran as an Independent. As a Democrat, Hamilton’s support dropped, giving him 46% to Marshall’s 54%.
Hamilton’s campaign organization points to the early fundraising surge as evidence of his support.
The donations came from 6,700 individual contributors, the majority of whom gave $100 or less. Seventy percent came from inside the state, with a big chunk of out-of-state money coming from the Kansas City metro, according to the campaign.
Other Democratic candidates weigh in
All of this has not gone unnoticed by the other Democratic candidates, though most of them have so far refrained from making direct attacks on Hamilton.
The exception is Noah Taylor, from near Wichita. On social media, Taylor questioned Hamilton’s commitment to Democratic Party values, most pointedly going after Hamilton over abortion access, saying the pastor has previously been “pro-life.”
“Kansans deserve a senator who doesn’t need to check the political winds before deciding where he stands on their fundamental rights. I’ve always known where I stand. And always will,” Taylor’s post read.
In response, Hamilton’s campaign staff noted a 2008 interview in which Hamilton said abortion should be available, legal and rare.
Campaign spokesperson Tyson Brody added, “Instead of spending time attacking fellow Democrats, we should be staying focused on beating Roger Marshall in November and winning for Kansans.”
Other Democratic candidates in the field have mainly stayed away from direct criticism of Hamilton.
Christy Davis of Cottonwood Falls alluded to his candidacy in a Facebook post, saying, “You’re going to hear a lot of voices and see a lot of shifting positions. But I want to be clear about something: I have always known exactly why I am in this race.”
Later, she added, “…No matter how many people enter this race, this is not about them. It is about you.”
Jason Hart, a former federal prosecutor from Wichita, also posted. “Being part of team Democrat also means supporting the nominee who emerges from the primary, and I’m confident Pastor Hamilton will stand alongside the rest of us in that effort,” he wrote.
Another candidate, Sandy Spidel Neumann of Mission, said she is trying to stay “above the fray” as she welcomes Hamilton to the race.
“I think everyone who wants to run and is viable should be running,” she said. But Spidel Neumann said Hamilton’s “back and forth” stance on women’s health care is “worrisome” to her. She said leaders should be able to make a quick and well-informed decision in a dynamic setting.
Anne Parelkar, a lawyer from Overland Park, had only a short comment on Hamilton’s decision: “I welcome him to the race and may the best ‘Anne’ win.”
“Stop eating your own alive”
Brandon Woodard, the Kansas House Democratic Leader from Lenexa, had some words of caution on social media for Democrats who have differed with each other on primary candidates.
“While we all know we have to meet the moment, some of the people I love are allowing their interest in our favorites to risk our allegiance to each other, our team and to Kansas,” he wrote.
He continued, “This morning, a new major candidate entered the race for the U.S. Senate in Kansas. I’ve witnessed individuals spend more time arguing with one another about their favorite pick and attempt to attack one another instead of make the case of who they like, why they like them and why they believe they’re worth voting FOR every single time someone emerges in a race.”
He said Democrats should instead use that energy to focus on getting more Democrats elected to the Kansas House and Senate.
Barbara Bollier, the Democrat who ran against Marshall in 2020, said she has talked with Hamilton and advised him to “be prepared for all the lies that will come, and they will be worded in such a way to prevent an actual lawsuit of libel.”
She said the race will be up to the Kansans who register and vote in the Democratic primary.
“I think he’s a really great candidate,” she said. “I think he has a very good chance of winning the primary, and if he wins the primary, I think he has an excellent chance of defeating Roger Marshall.”
She also sent a message to Democrats: “Stop eating your own alive.”
She said she’s spoken with Hamilton about the potentially divisive issue of his position on abortion access.
“That was a huge issue for me personally,” as a supporter of choice, she said. “After my conversation with him, I felt very comfortable supporting him, knowing that he would support women maintaining their bodily autonomy. I would never support someone who won’t stand for choice, and it was very clear to me from our conversation that he will.”
Her advice to Hamilton: “Keep your head up, tell the truth, expose the lies, be the man you intend to be, and work towards a better government, which is what we all want.”
