Roger Marshall

FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Incumbent Roger Marshall (R) will face off against Adam Hamilton (D) in Tuesday’s midterm election — a high-stakes and possibly historic race that could shift the balance of power in the United States Senate.

The two leaders have been neck and neck in the polls, and at each other’s necks in campaign ads for the last few months, leaving voters split.

Kansas’ Senate race was not one most members of the GOP believed would be close at the beginning of the year. But now, it appears as many voters have expressed support for Hamilton, potentially paving the way for the first Democrat to be elected to the position in 94 years.

Support largely shifted after the August primary, when voters selected the two candidates to move on to the general election.

Since then, Hamilton and Marshall have garnered support and controversy on the political stage. After the Oct. 20 debate hosted by FOX4 and Nexstar Media, the polls have only become even more unstable.

Hamilton and Marshall have been swapping spots for a projected majority vote. Less than a week out from election day, the pair were as close as they could be, with Hamilton reporting 45.9% and Marshall with 45.7%.

The Kansas U.S. Senate race is expected to remain close until the polls close, and results start rolling in on election night.

With that being said, here’s everything you need to know about each candidate before casting your vote:

In the August primaries, Marshall faced only one candidate on the GOP side: Pond Naramore. He won in a landslide, with nearly 80% of the popular vote.

His campaign has largely centered around Marshall being a born-and-bred Kansan. According to his website, he grew up on a farm in El Dorado that has been in his family for at least five generations.

Marshall graduated and earned a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University before receiving a doctorate from the University of Kansas. He then worked as an OB/GYN for more than 25 years in Great Bend, Kan., where he helped deliver more than 5,000 babies. He also served as a medical officer in the Army Reserves for seven years.

According to his campaign, he began his political career as a U.S. representative of District 1 from 2017 to 2021. Marshall then announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate and eventually defeated opponent Dr. Barbara Bollier (D). He now serves alongside Senator Jerry Moran (R) in Washington, D.C.

Marshall’s website spotlights several policies and issue areas he has focused on or wants to focus on as a Senator.

He wants to provide greater access to healthcare for rural and senior Kansans, lower the cost of living and fuel prices, establish higher classifications for drugs and drug crimes, and create more laws regarding illegal immigrants and border security.

Hamilton is not a politician. He has been a pastor for 36 years and currently serves as the lead pastor at Church of the Resurrection in Overland Park.

He grew up in Prairie Village, and since he was 25 years old, has worked with his wife and four others to build a church congregation to what is now approximately 24,000 members.

The longtime pastor said he joined the race for U.S. Senate after watching leaders in Washington, D.C. enter a war with Iran, increase gas prices, create tariffs, cut Medicaid and SNAP benefits, and more.

The three pillars of his campaign are the rising cost of living, healthcare and corruption.

Hamilton wants to restore the insurance tax credits that expired last year and reverse the Medicaid cuts that have put Kansas’ rural hospitals at risk. Additionally, he said he wants to find a way to lower the cost of living for Kansans and rural farmers who are struggling.

Lastly, he wants to “get dark money out of politics,” which he believes will help weed out corrupt elected officials.

In the August primaries, Hamilton faced 11 other U.S. Senate candidates with varying levels of political experience. In that race, he secured a significant portion of the popular vote (approximately 35%). The opponent with the next highest percentage was Christy Davis, who received 14%.

For more updates and real-time numbers on election night, tune in to FOX4 News on air and online for the latest details regarding the polls on Nov. 3.

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FOX 4 Kansas City is provided by Nexstar Media Inc., and uses the My Nexstar sign-in, which works across our media network.

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