Adam Hamilton becomes the first Democratic senator from Kansas in nearly a century
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Kansans are sending Democrat Adam Hamilton to the U.S. Senate, the first time they've sent a Democrat to the chamber since 1932.
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Hamilton, the pastor of the largest United Methodist church in the country, preached a moderate approach, and emphasized listening to both sides.
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President Trump won Kansas with a double-digit margin in each presidential election since 2016.
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But Kansans also elected a moderate Democrat to the governor's office, then reelected her in that same time period, showing the state is not a Republican stronghold at all levels.
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Marshall coasted to Washington with a more than 11-percentage-point margin of victory in 2020, despite some predictions for a more competitive race.
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But this year's contest ended up being the most expensive in Kansas history, with Hamilton breaking multiple fundraising records.
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Hamilton flirted with running as an independent, but decided to run as an "independent-minded Democrat."
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Supporters worried if he ran as an independent, he'd split the votes with the Democratic candidate and ultimately send Marshall back to Washington.
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Andi Welch, from Johnson County, Kansas doesn't always vote for the Democrat on the ballot, but she voted for Hamilton on Election Day.
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"I think he's going to be fair," Welch said.
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"I think he's running as a Democrat for the reasons he states, and I think he really is going to be looking out for Kansas citizens."
Hamilton's call for term limits, critiques of national Democrats and endorsements from prominent Kansas Republicans resonated with Kansans.
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But the race also delved into personal attacks.
The New York Times reported that Marshall, who worked as an OB-GYN before being voted to the U.S. House in 2016, sued 700 of his former patients for medical debt.
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who → think → debt
Hamilton's campaign used one of those former patients in an attack ad, and five days before Election Day that patient sued Marshall for allegedly charging a predatory interest rate.
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Marshall's campaign, for its part, bet heavily on an attack ad surrounding claims that Hamilton protected a pedophile.
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A church camp volunteer reportedly attempted to sexually abuse boys at one of Hamilton's church camps, and returned the following year where he did so again.
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Court records show the church's initial investigation into the boys' report was inconclusive, and Hamilton later said in a debate he was not involved in the decision to allow the volunteer to return.
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Church leaders called the authorities after the second report, but Hamilton said they should've called police after the first.
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they → call → first
National Republicans also turned their focus to the state, betting that the remaining undecided voters — which made up about 8% of the electorate in September, according to an Emerson College poll — were Trump voters who just needed encouragement to get out and vote.
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The president and vice president each visited the state twice this election season.
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Still, polls trended in Hamilton's favor — Emerson's by a wider margin than before their visits.
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Hamilton notably avoided association with national Democrats, which aligns with his "independent-minded" Democrat stance.
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Though his campaign took $5 million from a political action committee associated with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Hamilton said he wouldn't support Schumer for another leadership position.
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In their final debate before Election Day, Marshall sought to tie Hamilton to Schumer 15 times.
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Hamilton, meanwhile, leaned into a Kansas-first approach, a message that appealed to voters.
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that → lean → voters
The Aporia
