Lindsborg, Kan.
|
Oct. 18, 2026, 5:00 am ET
|
7 min read
The Rev. Adam Hamilton stands beneath a cross flanked by tapestries evoking stained glass and sings the opening notes of a hymn. A few people at a time join until the whole audience is harmonizing. Mr. Hamilton leads one of the largest United Methodist congregations in the country, but today he’s speaking in front of about 150 Kansans gathered at a private Lutheran college, pitching himself as their next United States senator.
Faith has long been a feature of Republican campaigns, but it’s been a dicier subject for Democrats. In recent years, the party has tended to emphasize the separation of church and state, welcoming voters of various cultural and faith traditions along with atheists and agnostics. In 2024, the official party platform cited numerous religious groups as needing protection against discrimination, including Muslims and Hindus, but made no mention of Christians or Christianity.
This cycle, however, Democratic Senate candidates like Mr. Hamilton and seminarian James Talarico in Texas, along with gubernatorial hopeful Rob Sand in Iowa, have been quoting Scripture, talking about Jesus, and highlighting their religious values. It’s an effort to reach moderate and Christian voters who have drifted away from their party in recent cycles. And so far, it seems to be working: All three are running surprisingly competitive races in what are normally Republican strongholds.
Kansas hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932. But, as a pastor and former Republican, Mr. Hamilton is an unusual candidate. He carries a pocket Bible and a chunk of salt, a reminder of the messages in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. “I pray multiple times throughout the day,” he says in Lindsborg. “I actually try to listen, pay attention, and figure out how can I be light and salt for people.”
In his campaign against incumbent GOP Sen. Roger Marshall, he’s been emphasizing bipartisanship and a return to decency, presenting himself as a balm in a polarized time.
“For a Kansas Democrat to win, you’ve got to have everything going your way,” says Troy Findley, a Democratic former lieutenant governor of the state. “[Mr. Hamilton] is a great candidate. He’s almost got a Reaganesque kind of quality to him. He is so positive, even when he’s pushing back.”
Adam Hamilton speaks to voters in the chapel at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, Oct. 8, 2026.
Church of the Resurrection
Mr. Hamilton’s church looks almost like a spaceship, with the sun glinting off metal panels that form a curve where a steeple might otherwise be. Inside, a 100-foot-wide panel of fused glass depicts the arc of the Bible in scenes surrounding Jesus, whose skin tones are depicted in an array of colors.
The church, founded by Mr. Hamilton, has nine locations and counts around 23,000 members and 12,000 regular attendees. Mr. Hamilton describes his congregation as “a microcosm” of society, and says it’s relatively evenly divided between Republicans, Democrats, and independents. It is part of the United Methodist denomination, which recognizes same-sex marriage. (The Global Methodist Church formed in 2022, with congregations that split from the denomination when it began ordaining gay clergy members.)
On the campaign trail, Mr. Hamilton often describes his church’s numerous outreach programs, from a food pantry to a bookmobile to dental care. On the main campus, the original chapel is being renovated to become a counseling center.
By explicitly linking his religious beliefs with his support for things like affordable housing and healthcare, “Hamilton has been doing a really decent job of talking about his religion in a way that appeals to nonreligious or religiously unaffiliated voters,” says Alexandra Middlewood, a political science professor at Wichita State University.
Michael Spicer, a local theater director, says he was initially skeptical when he heard Mr. Hamilton was a pastor. But after hearing the candidate speak at a bookstore in Salina, he was reassured.
The main church campus of the Rev. Adam Hamilton’s Church of the Resurrection is in Leawood, Kansas. The other eight locations are scattered around Kansas City.
“He seems to have a very strong ethical core,” says Mr. Spicer, an independent who has voted for Republican Sen. Jerry Moran but is unhappy with the status quo in Washington.
About 30% of Kansas voters are unaffiliated like Mr. Spicer, and Mr. Hamilton is attempting to appeal to them, as well as to Republicans unhappy with Senator Marshall and the state of the economy under President Donald Trump. So far, Senator Moran has not publicly endorsed Senator Marshall.
Medical debt and affordability concerns
Dr. Marshall, a physician before he entered politics, was elected to the Senate in 2020 after serving two terms in the U.S. House. He has been closely aligned with Mr. Trump, who is scheduled to hold a rally in Kansas on Oct. 19. On the trail, Dr. Marshall touts his efforts to tighten border security, lower costs for farmers, and boost energy production in the state.
But his campaign has been dogged by several scandals, including revelations that he used congressional resources for campaign purposes. Democrats have hammered him with negative ads highlighting how he sued patients for medical debts of as little as $101. That’s struck a nerve at a time when healthcare costs are soaring and many Kansans worry about rural hospital access.
Dr. Marshall’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Monitor.
Recent polls have shown Mr. Hamilton with a slight lead, boosted by a third candidate in the race, Libertarian David Graham, who’s drawing a few percentage points of support away from Dr. Marshall. According to an Emerson College poll from September, the economy is the top issue for voters.
GOP Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas speaks at a Senate Finance Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 16, 2025.
Kansans are hurting financially, but electing Democrats won’t help, says Danedri Herbert, chair of the Kansas GOP.
Inflation first spiked during the Biden administration, she notes. “[Democrats] pumped money in and pumped money in without paying any attention to where it went,” she says. “Every time they turn up the printing presses it makes the dollar in my pocket worth a little bit less.”
In 2024, exit polls showed most votes held Democrats responsible for inflation. Lately, however, they’re more likely to blame the Trump administration’s war in Iran and tariffs.
Lynnette Krieger-Zook, a Democrat running for the Kansas House, says her campaign is receiving donations from Republicans, as well as unaffiliated voters.
Ms. Krieger-Zook, who was a registered Republican until two years ago and who came to a large campaign event for Mr. Hamilton at a theater in Hutchinson, says voters are especially tired of the divisive approach spearheaded by Mr. Trump. That’s created an opening for candidates promising a more bipartisan approach, like Mr. Hamilton.
“We just have been doing politics by the extremes instead of by the center, and I think there’s a lot of people who are frustrated by that,” says Mr. Hamilton, speaking with reporters in Lindsborg. “I’m not going to catch the ends [of the political spectrum]. It’s the broad center.”
The abortion question
For decades, one of the main issues driving religious voters away from the Democratic Party and toward the GOP has been abortion.
Yet in 2022, just weeks after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, Kansas voters, 70% of whom identify as Christian, overwhelmingly rejected a referendum that would have removed state abortion protections. Even as other red states have banned the procedure, it remains legal in Kansas.
The ballot measure was defeated by an 18-point margin, so at least 30% of Republicans had to have voted against it, says Professor Middlewood.
“A clear majority of Kansans think about abortion as less of a religious issue and more of a ‘what is the role of government’ type of issue,” she says.
A view of the downtown of Salina, Kansas, is shown Oct. 8, 2026.
On the trail, red state Democrats like Mr. Talarico and Mr. Hamilton have been trying to offer some nuance on an issue that’s become increasingly polarized. Their approach harks back to the Clinton era, when abortion was often described by Democratic officials as something that should be “safe, legal, and rare.”
“I feel this moral tension, and at the same time a conviction that abortion should be safe and legal,” Mr. Hamilton said in response to a voter’s question in Lindsborg. His mother, Mr. Hamilton added, was 17 when she became pregnant with him.
“War is also a life issue,” offers Frank Leone, a retired teacher who voted for Dr. Marshall in 2020 but who came to hear Mr. Hamilton speak in Hutchinson.
Mr. Leone describes himself as religious and opposed to abortion, and says he’s had to weigh that against other concerns this cycle. He left the event with a Hamilton yard sign.
Some conservative critics call Mr. Hamilton’s political positions a distortion of Christianity, saying his views are offensive to true Christians.
“Democrat Pastor Adam Hamilton thinks it’s a sin to be white and a sin to raise cattle and eat meat,” said Vice President JD Vance at a September rally. “That is not Christianity. That is left-wing radicalism dressed in the skin suit of our religion.”
Deepen your worldview
with Monitor Highlights.
Politics with respect
Get political stories with respectful analysis.
There‘s a world of new ideas in every
Books newsletter.
There‘s more to life, enrich yours with
Culture & Learning weekly.
Follow humanity‘s discoveries with
Science & Nature stories in your inbox.
Gain a spiritual perspective
from the stories in your inbox.
Want to understand the deeper impact of critical events? Learn the Monitor‘s insight.
Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
Mr. Hamilton calls Mr. Vance’s accusations false and “a sign of desperation.” And his supporters say Mr. Hamilton’s religious credentials are far more likely to help with voters than hurt.
“There are a lot of Republicans who … may end up voting for Adam Hamilton because of his faith,” says Mr. Findley.
Source: www.csmonitor.com
