Hamilton says Vance’s attacks on his religion are ‘really sad,’ ‘pathetic’

Kansas Senate candidate Adam Hamilton (D) on Sunday clapped back at Vice President Vance’s attacks on his religious beliefs, calling the attacks “really sad” and “pathetic.”

ABC’s Jonathan Karl sat down to interview Hamilton in the Sunflower State and asked the moderate pastor about Vance, who has been outspoken about his religious beliefs since before entering politics, coming to campaign for Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.).

“He really went after you,” Karl said. “He called your views ‘left-wing radicalism dressed in the skin suit of our religion.’ Saying that of your beliefs: ‘That is not Christianity.’ This was the vice president of the United States taking aim at your religious practice.”

“Well, I thought it was a sign of desperation and I thought it was really sad,” Hamilton replied. “It was pathetic. He doesn’t know me, doesn’t know anything about my faith. He came in attacking –– when do we start attacking people’s faith?”

Hamilton brushed the criticism aside, saying that he wakes up every day, “I slip to my knees, I offer my life to Christ, I pray for the Holy Spirit to lead me, I read scripture, I carry the Bible with me everywhere I go.” He pulled a small Bible from his back pocket during the interview.

“I not only seek to be a follower of Jesus, but to practice that in how I treat other people,” Hamilton said. “And I just would say examine my life, examine the way I’ve tried to live and then I want to see, Mr. Vice President, let’s compare. Let’s compare theology. Let’s compare our faith and the impact we’re having on the world.”

The Kansas Democrat added that Vance’s additional criticisms accusing Hamilton of suggesting that “it’s a sin to be white and a sin to raise cattle and eat feet” and that he believes it’s “OK with supporting groups that spit on God-fearing Americans” were not true.

“Yeah, so every single line of what you just read was a lie,” Hamilton said in response. “It was a false hit. It was, like, 180 degrees different from reality. So there was no part of what he said was true.”

During the rally for Marshall in Olathe, Kan., last Monday, Vance played soundbites of past sermons Hamilton gave that lacked context, indicating that the pastor thinks people should repent from eating meat, while also slamming Hamilton’s church for holding a local pride festival, the Kansas Reflector reported .

“In this race, we have got Dr. Roger Marshall, a proud servant of this state, and a proud Christian to boot, versus a guy who would insult your faith and spit on your religion to accrue donations to himself,” Vance said.

Hamilton’s campaign has invited Vance to come to his church “instead of attacking the largest United Methodist Church in the country,” spokesperson Glynnis Harvey told the Reflector.

If elected, Hamilton would be the first Democrat elected by Kansans to the Senate since former Sen. George McGill (D-Kan.) in 1932.