From Newsweek · · 2m
Kansas gets a real Senate race
A megachurch pastor has turned a safe Republican seat into a fight, and a debate crowd chanted "shame on you" at the incumbent.
In brief
A megachurch pastor has turned a safe Republican seat into a fight, and a debate crowd chanted "shame on you" at the incumbent. Marshall is still the favorite, but a 700-lawsuit story and an unknown, well-funded challenger have made a 90-year Democratic drought look shakier than it should. Originally reported by…
A safe seat stopped being safe
Roger Marshall still leads in Kansas, but the race is close enough that a normally sleepy contest is now one of the most watched of 2026.
Booed at the state fair
In his first debate with Democrat Adam Hamilton at the Kansas State Fair, Marshall was repeatedly booed by the crowd.
The chant that landed
When Marshall defended suing patients over unpaid medical bills, the audience broke into a chant of "shame on you."
“shame on you”
Why the Senate math matters
Republicans are defending a slim majority in a midterm where the governing party usually loses seats. Democrats need four flips to take the chamber.
A 93-year drought
Democrats have not won a Kansas Senate race since 1932 and have not come close in 50 years. Trump carried the state by 16 points in 2024.
What the polls show
A co/efficient poll has Marshall up 49-44. Global Strategy Group had Hamilton ahead 44-43, and PPP had Marshall up 46-45. Two of three are inside the margin.
Forecasters and bettors split
Cook moved Kansas from solid to likely Republican after Hamilton's primary win. Kalshi and Polymarket still give Marshall about an 80 percent chance.
700 lawsuits against patients
The New York Times reported Marshall sued more than 700 patients over bills from $101 to several thousand dollars during his OB-GYN career. 81 were arrested after missing court dates.
Who got sued
Most defendants lived in Barton County, where poverty and uninsured rates run above average. Bills carried 18 percent annual interest, and some bank accounts were garnished.
The campaign's defense
Marshall's team says judges issued the warrants, not doctors, and that the practice gave millions in uncompensated care using the same billing methods as everyone else in Kansas.
“used the exact same billing and outside collection procedures as every other business or hospital in Kansas”
The pastor from Leawood
Hamilton built the country's largest United Methodist church from a funeral home chapel to 25,000 members, wrote 30 books, raised $3.6 million in two months, and calls himself a centrist.
“too woke for Kansas”
The essence
Marshall is still the favorite, but a 700-lawsuit story and an unknown, well-funded challenger have made a 90-year Democratic drought look shakier than it should.
