Minister Adam Hamilton stuns Kansas, becomes state's first Democratic senator since 1932

Kansas just did something it hasn't done since 1932. Rev. Adam Hamilton, a Methodist minister who has never held public office, has beaten Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, NBC News projects — putting a Democrat in a Kansas Senate seat for the first time in nearly 90 years.

The win lands in a state President Donald Trump carried by 16 points in 2024, and it gives Democrats a significant boost as they battle for control of the Senate. Hamilton, 62, leads the largest Methodist congregation in the country. He was registered as a Republican until earlier this year and served on former President Barack Obama's faith advisory council, even preaching at Obama's 2013 inaugural prayer service.

Kansas turned into an unexpected battleground down the stretch. With backlash growing over Trump's handling of the economy, Republican outside groups were forced to pour millions into propping up Marshall, and Democratic groups answered with ads of their own. Hamilton ran as a moderate and pulled bipartisan backing, including endorsements from former GOP Govs. Bill Graves and Mike Hayden.

Hamilton and his allies hammered Marshall, 66, over prices driven up by the Iran war and Trump's tariff agenda, plus health care cuts in the "big, beautiful bill" Republicans passed last year. Rising diesel and beef prices squeezed Kansas agriculture especially hard. Democrats also seized on Marshall's votes against resolutions meant to halt the conflict until Congress authorized it, and on his April remark that national security was "even more important than your pocketbook" as gas prices climbed.

Marshall didn't put much distance between himself and Trump the way Republicans in other tough races did, though in September he demanded federal immigration agents coordinate with local law enforcement. He also faced heat after The New York Times reported he had sued hundreds of patients over unpaid bills, leading to dozens of arrest warrants for missed court dates. Marshall's lawyer said the senator set an 18% interest rate on the bills but had no role in warrants or arrests; Marshall called the story a "hit job."

Marshall, an obstetrician-gynecologist, won his first Senate term by 11 points in 2020 after two terms in the House. Kansas may lean deep red in presidential years, but it has elected a Democratic governor for the last two terms in Laura Kelly — a reminder that the state's down-ballot races can break the other way.