Marshall, Hamilton clash in battleground Kansas Senate debate: 4 takeaways

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) faced Democrat Adam Hamilton, a pastor, in their final debate Wednesday night, amid signs that the race is tighter than Republicans had anticipated.

Both men walked a narrow political tightrope at the debate hosted by Nexstar Media Group. Hamilton sought distance from high-profile Democrats — like former President Biden and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — while Marshall underscored his alignment with President Trump, but outlined some areas of disagreements.

Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since the 1930s. Yet, Marshall’s ties to Trump and the unpopular Iran war, plus an unfavorable political environment for the GOP, are boosting Hamilton. Elections analysts have rated the contest a toss-up, although Decision Desk HQ, The Hill’s election data partner, has Marshall narrowly favored to win — with 65 percent odds.

Here are four takeaways from Wednesday’s debate:

Marshall embraces Trump while Hamilton walks tightrope

Marshall sought to appeal to Kansas’s MAGA base, saying a vote a for him is a vote for the president. The state voted for Trump by over 10 percentage points in each of his elections.

“If you want the Trump agenda to continue, if you want secure borders, if you want a strong military, if you want lower taxes, you voted for President Trump, you need to come out because we delivered on those things,” he said.

When pressed, the incumbent listed his differences with Trump, citing his criticism of a recent federal immigration operation in the Sunflower State as well as his opposition to the White House’s plan to import foreign beef in an effort to bring down costs.

“Just like with my wife, I can disagree with her,” Marshall said, adding that, while “my wife is always right, President Trump is not always right.”

“But…it’s great that I have a relationship that I can pick up the phone and discuss with him the pros and cons of what he’s contemplating,” he continued.

Hamilton, meanwhile, was careful not to alienate Trump voters on Wednesday’s debate stage.

“I just want to say, I’m not running against President Trump,” Marshall said, and pointed to Marshall with two fingers. “I’m running against him.”

The Democrat welcomed Trump to Kansas earlier this week in a video posted to social media, and largely directed his attacks during the debate at Marshall and congressional Republicans, not Trump himself.

“I got a lot of Trump supporters who were supporting me as well, which has been very exciting,” Hamilton added.

Hamilton rebuffs ties to high-profile Democrats

Hamilton, who considered running as an independent before throwing his hat in the ring as a Democrat, sought distance from party leaders at the debate.

Marshall repeatedly mentioned Schumer, Biden or former President Obama while critiquing Hamilton, hoping to connect the Democratic candidate with the national party.

But Hamilton rejected those links. When Marshall suggested Hamilton had helped Obama “develop” policies on immigration, the Democrat pushed back, saying he has been a pastor, not a politician, for his whole career and “didn’t develop policies with President Obama or anyone else.”

Obama did appoint Hamilton to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in 2016, for a one-year term.

Hamilton also reiterated that he won’t back Schumer as leader if elected to the upper chamber.

“I’ve already said I wouldn’t support Chuck Schumer for Senate Majority Leader if Democrats control the Senate,” he said. He also criticized the Biden administration for its handling of the southern border, calling the policy at the time “a disaster.”

Marshall suggested Hamilton will fall in line with national Democrats.

“This guy’s funded by Chuck Schumer. He’ll be beholden to Chuck Schumer for forever, and that’s why we need to keep myself in that Senate seat,” Marshall said Wednesday.

Senate hopefuls find common ground on trans athletes

Although the candidates diverged on most topics, both agreed on a key culture war issue: transgender athletes.

The two men, when asked by moderator John Holt, said there were two genders. Both also agreed that biological men should not play on girls’ sports teams and that local entities, not the federal government, should be in charge of regulation.

Hamilton invoked his 12-year-old granddaughter, whom he said he does not want competing against “biological men.”

Hamilton waded into thorny territory when asked about the Middle East.

Democrats have been staunchly divided on military aid to Israel amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Hamilton said Wednesday he supports “a strong defense” for Israel, but that he shares voters’ concerns about the war.

“When you talk about dropping bombs on massive population centers and seeing as many as 75,000 people who have been killed, and you’re talking lots of civilians, I think most Americans look at that and go, ‘Wait, did I do that? Did I provide those weapons?’” he said, noting that Hamas, which launched a deadly attack on Israel in October 2023 and sparked a war in the region, “needs to be rooted out.”

Marshall reiterated his own strong support for Israel, but did not specify a scenario in which he would withdraw support for U.S. aid.

“I’m sure there is, but I’m not sure what it would be,” Marshall said, when asked if there was any action by Israel that would cause him to block arms sales.