A Democrat unseating an incumbent Republican senator in Kansas sounds unbelievable at first. It’s been 94 years since Kansas has sent a Democrat (George McGill) to Washington, and to date, registered Republicans outnumber registered Democrats 907,000 to 507,000. Kansas joined the union as a “free state"—a Republican free state—and since its founding in 1861, it’s largely voted accordingly.
Yet somehow this cycle, Methodist megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton finds himself in a statistical tie with Republican Senator Roger Marshall despite running with a "D" next to his name. Even with three heel clicks, many Republicans still won't feel like Kansas at home. And neither a tornado nor a wicked witch is to blame for the reality.
First, the obvious stuff: the party in the White House has historically fared poorly in the midterms, especially when the president has a 37 percent approval rating like Donald Trump. Marshall is a vulnerable candidate, having been exposed by The New York Times for suing over 700 former patients as an OB-GYN for unpaid bills that sometimes totaled just a few hundred dollars. But mainly, Hamilton has been touted as a top-tier candidate, someone who’s cut through partisan gridlock to inspire voters while running a well-oiled campaign.
Those three things can be true, but they don't tell the whole story. Kansas didn’t just become competitive suddenly because Hamilton took the scene. After all, Kansas already has a statewide elected Democrat in Governor Laura Kelly.
She’s played a tremendous role in building up the Kansas Democratic Party’s infrastructure to meet the moment. And as this Newsweek reporter has covered this Midterm cycle, grassroots organizing is bucking longtime conventional wisdom that money and ads win elections. Can you do better?’” Kansas Democratic Party Chair Jeanna Repass told Newsweek.
Democrats were flailing all over the state, didn't feel like they had a party that they could rely on, and she understood that that was not the way to move forward if we were ever going or elect her replacement, if we were ever going to build.” Repass came from a community organizing and marketing background before mounting a 2022 bid for Kansas secretary of state. She lost the general election 58 percent to 39 percent but won Kelly's respect in the process. Repass said Kelly was concerned the party wasn't headed in the right direction and believed her director-level experience could help professionalize the institution.
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