In the closing weeks of a midterm season where the Senate itself may hang in the balance, two Kansas men stood before voters and tried to answer for their pasts before they could speak about their futures. Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, defending a record shadowed by his medical practice's collection lawsuits, and Democratic pastor Adam Hamilton, reckoning with a failure at his church's summer camp, each sought to show that they belong to neither their party's excesses nor its loyalties. It is an old human maneuver, the attempt to stand apart from the crowd one has been bundled into, and here
Kansas Senate Rivals Distance Themselves From Party Leaders in Heated Debate
In the closing weeks of a midterm season where the Senate itself may hang in the balance, two Kansas men stood before voters and tried to answer for their pasts before they could speak about their futures. Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, defending a record shadowed by his medical practice's collection lawsuits, and Democratic pastor Adam Hamilton, reckoning with a failure at his church's summer camp, each sought to show that they belong to neither their party's excesses nor its loyalties. It is an old human maneuver, the attempt to stand apart from the crowd one has been bundled into, and here it unfolds in a state that has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1932.
The debate opened on the personal wounds that have filled the attack ads of the final weeks. Sen. Roger Marshall was pressed on a New York Times finding that his former medical practice sued more than 700 patients over unpaid bills. He answered by pointing to millions in charity care each year, and to the practical weight of running a business with 300 employees, a mortgage, and an electric bill.
Adam Hamilton, a longtime pastor, faced his own reckoning over how his church handled allegations involving a summer camp volunteer. He acknowledged that after an initial investigation he should have ensured the man never returned. "That was a mistake on my part," he said.
Much of the evening then became a contest over who belonged to whom. Marshall warned that a Hamilton win could hand Democrats the Senate and put Chuck Schumer in charge. Hamilton cast himself as a Democrat willing to break ranks, promising to oppose Schumer as majority leader and calling the Biden border record a disaster.
The sharpest moment came when a clip of Trump urging voters to "pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot" was shown. Marshall said he does not back every part of the Trump agenda, citing disagreements over immigration enforcement and beef imports, then joked that Trump is "not always right." Still, he asked Trump's voters to turn out. Both men agreed that there are two genders, and Hamilton said he opposed biological males competing against his granddaughter in sports, though he thought such decisions belonged locally.
With Republicans fighting to hold a seat that could help decide Senate control, Kansas has become an unexpectedly close contest.
The debate began with the two men being pressed on the personal controversies that have driven attack ads through the final weeks of the Kansas Senate race. On Wednesday night, Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton each had to answer for something before they got to policy.
Marshall was asked about a New York Times review that found his former medical practice sued more than 700 patients over unpaid bills. He defended the practice and pointed to the charity care it provided. "Every year we gave away $3 to $4 million of charity, but we also had a business," he said, adding that the practice had 300 employees, a mortgage payment and an electric bill.
Hamilton, a longtime pastor, was questioned about his handling of allegations involving a volunteer at his church's summer camp who was alleged to have been a sexual predator. He acknowledged that after an initial investigation he should have made sure the person did not return to the camp. "I should have checked to make sure that he wasn't going back," Hamilton said. "That was a mistake on my part."
Most of the rest of the evening was spent on a different task: each man trying to pin the other to his national party. Marshall repeatedly warned that electing Hamilton would help give Democrats control of the Senate, and put Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in charge of it. Hamilton presented himself as an independent-minded Democrat willing to break with his party, in keeping with his campaign message of "leading from the middle."
The split showed most clearly when the moderator played footage of President Donald Trump campaigning for Marshall in Kansas earlier in the week, telling voters to "pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot." Asked whether that meant he backed every part of the Trump agenda, Marshall said no. He cited recent disagreements over immigration enforcement in southwest Kansas and over beef imports. "Just like with my wife, I can disagree with her. My wife is always right," he joked. "And President Trump is not always right."
Still, Marshall made clear where he stands on most of it, and he asked the president's supporters to show up. "We need the Trump voters to come out," he said, listing secure borders, a strong military and lower taxes as reasons for those who want the Trump agenda to continue.
Hamilton faced his own version of the question, with moderators pressing him on his past support for Democrats. He broke explicitly with former President Joe Biden on immigration. "The Biden policies when it came to the border were a disaster," he said. "I believe in strong and secure borders." He also said that if Democrats win control of the Senate, he would not support Schumer for majority leader.
One exchange produced agreement. Asked how many genders there are, Marshall said, "There's two. There's a boy and there's a girl." Hamilton answered that there are two, male and female. Hamilton later said he does not want biological males competing against his 12-year-old granddaughter in sports, calling it "not a fair fight," though he argued that such decisions should generally be made locally, not by the federal government.
The debate also touched on the war in Iran, though the source does not detail what either man said about it. The race has become unexpectedly competitive in the closing weeks of the midterms. Marshall is seeking a second term in a state that has not elected a Democratic U.S. senator since 1932. Trump traveled to Kansas on Monday to campaign for him as Republicans try to hold a seat that could help decide who controls the Senate.
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