Big money propels Dem megachurch pastor to victory in longshot Kansas Senate bid

Kansas Democrats have made their choice in one of the most crowded primary battles in the nation and are backing a political newcomer with an eye-popping campaign war chest.

Adam Hamilton emerged victorious in an 11-way primary Tuesday night in the race to take on incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who is running for a second term in the upper chamber.

And he has a line of attack against Hamilton already teed up.

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"Look, this guy is a woke, big megachurch pastor," Marshall told Fox News Digital. "He's too woke for Kansas. I think all we have to do is share his own sermons … with the Kansas people, and they're gonna realize that he's too woke for Kansas."

History is on the side of Marshall, who previously served four years in the House before making the leap to the Senate in 2020. That’s because Kansas has not sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly a century. The last time was in the 1930s, when Kansans elected former Sen. George McGill. He only served one term before being ousted by a Republican.

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Still, he’s not resting on his laurels as he stares down another likely funding disadvantage.

National Republicans aren’t dumping resources into Kansas like they are in other states, given that Marshall is a strong incumbent and valuable campaign cash is needed in tougher contests in Texas, Maine and Ohio.

While Kansas is not on Senate Republicans’ radar as a battleground state, there is big money flowing in that could make Marshall’s bid for another term complicated.

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Hamilton, who leads the nation’s largest United Methodist church and congregation, has raised just north of $4.1 million since launching his campaign in February, according to financial filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Marshall, on the other hand, has raised just over $6.2 million during this cycle.

"Well, this is probably why my staff tells me, no matter what the polls show, they tell me that we're down by three points, and we did get outspent about four to one last time around. Regardless, we're gonna keep working hard," Marshall said.

And as precious campaign resources flow to other marquee races during this cycle, where the GOP has more vulnerable incumbents up for reelection than Democrats, Marshall isn’t asking for a handout.

He wants the resources from major GOP campaign arms, like the National Republican Senatorial Committee or the GOP leadership-aligned Senate Leadership Fund, to stay put.

"I guess we're trying to not need to do that," Marshall said. "That's what our hope is, is that they won't need to do that. Leader McConnell was super helpful last time. So, you know, they're keeping tabs on this. We got to, you know, we're all one, big happy family here, so we're hoping we don't need them."