Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) lost the hotly contested Kansas Senate race, losing to megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton, a Democrat.
Hamilton well out-raised Marshall in campaign fundraising. As of Oct. 14, Hamilton had almost triple what the incumbent had on hand. Republican Party leadership even redirected campaign funds from the Senate race in North Carolina to back Marshall.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance both visited Kansas to campaign for Marshall at the end of the midterm push.
Hamilton led in the polls in the last few weeks before the election by such a small percentage that it was within the margin of error. His win makes him the first Senate Democrat elected in the state of Kansas in 94 years.
Despite the state’s long Republican-leaning history, the past few elections have seen a swing to the left for the Sunflower State.
Kansas’ Senate race was one of several close races that will decide whether Republicans keep control of the Senate.
Before the midterms, Republicans held a 53–47 Senate majority. Marshall was elected in 2020 with 53 percent of the vote, replacing long-term Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, who retired.
Local teamsters endorsed Marshall. Kansas Local 696 Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a September press release that Marshall is “a friend of labor.”
“As a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Sen. Marshall has been eager to partner with us on legislation that protects workers, even when it requires breaking rank with his own party. We look forward to continuing to work together with Sen. Marshall to fight for the rights of hardworking Americans.”
Trump carried the state in all three of his presidential campaigns, and won it with around 57 percent of the vote in 2024.
Some Kansas Republicans, however, seem to have rejected Trump’s sway over the party, and several told The Epoch Times that they switched their votes to Democrats in this election to avoid supporting the president.
Johnson County voter Deborah Brand is a registered Republican and former Republican committee chairperson, but she said she has voted largely for Democrats since Trump’s election.
“Don’t like the man. I find him a sad representation of who we are,” Brand said.
She said she voted for Democrats in the gubernatorial and Senate elections this year because she felt the state “needs checks and balances” that it doesn’t currently have.
However, she said she doesn’t believe that the state’s swing to the left is necessarily permanent. Brand said she thinks that the state could swing back with a more moderate Republican.
“Kansas has always been very Republican. I think if there were a decent candidate, they would remain Republican,” she said.
Andrew Howell, Shawnee County election commissioner, told The Epoch Times that in Kansas early voting, the county turnout was high.
Shawnee County—home to the Kansas state capital of Topeka—is one of a handful of key eastern counties in Kansas that have voted for Democrats in recent cycles.
Debbie Severson of Johnson County said she opposes the two-party system entirely.
“I have to be Democrat,” the recently retired massage therapist said when asked which party she’s more aligned with.
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