Adam Hamilton, the senior pastor who founded one of the nation’s largest United Methodist congregations, is turning his church profile into a serious Democratic challenge to Republican Sen. Roger Marshall in a state where Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate race since 1932. A poll released Oct. 12 showed Hamilton narrowly ahead, 47.5% to 46.7%, among likely voters, though the difference fell within the survey’s margin of error. KMBC reported that InsiderAdvantage surveyed 1,200 Kansas voters Oct. 9-10.
Hamilton, 61, won the Democratic nomination in a crowded Aug. 4 primary. Official results from the Kansas secretary of state show him receiving 77,607 votes, or 34.63%, while Marshall won the Republican primary with 270,632 votes, or 79.9%. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3.
The campaign is unusual because Hamilton has remained closely connected to the Church of the Resurrection, the United Methodist congregation he founded in Leawood in 1990. The church has grown from a small group meeting in a funeral-home chapel into a congregation of roughly 25,000 people across nine Kansas City-area locations. According to Associated Press reporting, Hamilton is on unpaid leave from regular preaching but continues pastoral work, including hospital visits. If elected, he says he would remain senior pastor and preach 12 to 18 times a year.
Hamilton is presenting himself as an “independent-minded” Democrat focused on affordability, health care, unity and what he calls “decency” in public life. He has also sought to reassure voters who do not share his faith, saying he is not running “to make everybody in this country Christian or United Methodist” and would “fight for the rights of all people, whether they have any faith or not,” according to AP. His campaign is attempting to reach moderate Republicans and independents while preserving support among Democrats.
Republicans have attacked Hamilton’s theology and record on LGBTQ+ inclusion, climate change and church ministry. Marshall has described him as “too woke for Kansas,” while Hamilton has defended his approach to ministry and politics. The campaign has also faced criticism over clips from sermons and advertisements targeting the church, including claims Hamilton’s congregation promoted radical environmental views and supported a drag-queen story hour; AP reported that at least some of those attacks relied on selectively edited or disputed material.
Money and national attention have followed the tightening contest. Hamilton’s campaign reported raising $10.6 million during the third quarter across his campaign and joint fundraising committees, while national Republican groups moved nearly $11 million in spending or reservations to support Marshall, according to POLITICO. Two former Republican Kansas governors, Bill Graves and Mike Hayden, have endorsed Hamilton, adding to the Democrat’s effort to compete beyond the state’s traditional party boundaries.