# Kansas Senate race: both sides distort abuse allegations > Democratic and Republican attack ads in Kansas accuse the other candidate of protecting predators, but both campaigns misrepresent the facts. - Title: Kansas Senate race: both sides distort abuse allegations - Summary: Democratic and Republican attack ads in Kansas accuse the other candidate of protecting predators, but both campaigns misrepresent the facts. In Kansas's… - Keywords: kansas senate race, roger marshall, adam hamilton, 2026 election, attack ads, epstein files, church camp abuse, fact-checking, misleading claims, politics, fact check, Kansas - Source: FactCheck.org — https://factcheck.org/2026/11/in-kansas-both-sides-twist-the-facts-in-accusations-of-protecting-pedophiles - Read time: 3 min - Topics: kansas senate race, roger marshall, adam hamilton, 2026 election, attack ads, epstein files, church camp abuse, fact-checking, misleading claims, politics, fact check ## Kansas Senate race heats up In Kansas's tight Senate race, both Democratic and Republican outside groups run attack ads accusing the other candidate of protecting child abusers. Both campaigns distort the facts. ## Democrats attack Marshall on Epstein Democratic groups claim Senator Roger Marshall, the Republican incumbent, helped cover up Jeffrey Epstein's crimes by voting to keep files sealed and taking money from Epstein associates. ## Marshall's actual Epstein votes In September twenty twenty-five, Marshall voted against a Democratic amendment to release Epstein files, saying he opposed tying it to an unrelated defense bill. Two months later, he supported a standalone bill that passed unanimously. ## Marshall's statement on priorities When asked about the Epstein files in July twenty twenty-five, Marshall said releasing them was not his focus. He cited bigger priorities including a tax cut and border security. > It's just not my focus. I mean, I want justice to be served, but we need to be focused right now on telling Americans about this reconciliation bill that we did. ## WinSenate's spending on ads WinSenate, a super PAC working to elect Democrats, spent more than six million dollars on two ads attacking Marshall over the Epstein files as of November second.At least two other groups also aired similar ads. ## The Epstein associates claim Democratic ads claim Marshall took nearly forty thousand dollars from Jeffrey Epstein's associates. The claim relies on four people whose names appear in Epstein files but had no documented connection to him. ## Stephen Schwarzman and Epstein One supposed associate is Stephen Schwarzman, chairman and CEO of Blackstone.Both were among about one hundred fifty founding members of an exclusive New York club, each paying one hundred thousand dollars. ## Schwarzman denies Epstein link Schwarzman's spokesperson said it would be categorically false to claim or imply that Steve had any relationship with Epstein. Emails show Epstein was invited to events Schwarzman hosted but no direct correspondence between them. > It would be categorically false and reckless to claim or imply that Steve had any relationship with this despicable individual. ## Joseph Baratta and Epstein Joseph Baratta, a Blackstone executive who donated six thousand dollars to Marshall's campaign in twenty twenty-five, appears once in Epstein files in an email exchange about a public relations matter. No direct contact is documented. ## Baratta denies Epstein connection Baratta's spokesperson said Joe never met, spoke with, or interacted with Epstein in any way. It would be outrageous and patently false to suggest otherwise, the spokesperson said. > Joe never met, spoke with, or interacted with him in any way, period. ## Joel Magerman and Greg Ezring Two other supposed associates are Joel Magerman, head of Bryant Park Capital, who gave eleven thousand four hundred dollars to Marshall in twenty nineteen, and Greg Ezring, a Paul Weiss lawyer who gave five hundred… ## Republicans attack Hamilton on abuse The Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, spent more than one point six million dollars on an ad claiming Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton, a pastor, protected a… ## What happened at the church camp In twenty twenty-five, teenage boys at a youth camp run by Church of the Resurrection reported a man entered their rooms at night and molested them. ## Church did not report to police The church did not report the twenty twenty-five incidents to police. Hamilton's name does not appear in documents related to handling the incident, according to the Kansas City Star's review of court records. ## Scott Preston Moore identified The following year, Scott Preston Moore was accused of sneaking into boys' rooms and identified as the culprit.Church leaders reported it to law enforcement and barred Moore from working with children or youth. ## Moore's later conviction In twenty ten, a man told Hamilton that Moore had abused him decades earlier as a babysitter.After speaking with Hamilton, the man reported the abuse to police. ## Hamilton's response to allegations Hamilton has acknowledged the church could have handled the situation better but denies protecting or covering up for a predator. > We should have called the police immediately. But that was not our policies twenty-one years ago. ## Race rated as toss-up The Cook Political Report rates the Kansas race as one of several toss-ups that could determine control of the Senate on November third. ## Key takeaway In Kansas's tight Senate race, both Democratic and Republican outside groups run misleading ads accusing the other side's candidate of protecting child abusers, with neither claim supported by evidence.