The eyes of pundits and pols nationwide suddenly focused on Kansas Thursday, as one of the state's best-known clergymen jumped into the Democrat primary, setting up a potentially competitive challenge to Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.
The decision by the Rev. Adam Hamilton, a frequent television presence and founding pastor of the nation's largest United Methodist church, has suddenly made the race in Kansas interesting and perhaps competitive.
The last time the Sunflower State elected a Democrat to the Senate was in 1932.
"The first thing I heard everywhere I went — I don't think there was a single place [where] the first thing that somebody said wasn't, 'Why don't you run as a Democrat?'" Hamilton told the Kansas City Star following a two-month "listening tour" of the state.
Hamilton, 61, whose United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City has an estimated 28,000 parishioners, had considered running as an independent. But, he explained, almost everyone he spoke to said: "We're afraid that you're going to split the votes for the Democrats and that you are going to leave Roger Marshall with a victory."
Like the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, famed as the author of "The Power of Positive Thinking" and portrayed in the hit 1965 film "One Man's Way," Hamilton has a knack for sermons that connect with people who are not religious or even fellow Methodists.
And Kansas Democrats are excited.
"Hamilton is a very attractive and viable candidate," former Rep. Jim Slattery, D-Kan., told Newsmax. "He has a lot of history to overcome in Kansas, but he has the ability to expand his political reach beyond the Democratic base and moderate Republican voters necessary to reach 50% in Kansas."
As for Marshall, Slattery noted that the senator "has a relatively low approval rating — mid- to low 40s — which makes him especially vulnerable this year with $4 gas and $5.50 diesel and food prices rising."
Ben Davis, GOP consultant and head of the Cato Consulting Group, agreed and pointed out, "Kansas City, where Hamilton has nine satellite churches, has a drastic shift to the left over the last 15 years and is now solidly blue."
"And in the big 1st District, which is all rural except for Lawrence, people are feeling the squeeze of tariffs," he said.
But Davis quickly added, "The biggest challenge for Rev. Hamilton will be whether the Democrats stifle his candidacy by imposing on him ridiculous, nihilistic purity tests on abortion, transgender rights, and, yes, Israel."
He added, "The Democratic Party has become so radicalized that Bill Clinton's position that abortion should be 'safe, legal, and rare' has been swept aside by the call for abortion on demand."
Hamilton has a nuanced abortion position not unlike Joe Biden's, stating in 2022 his view that "abortion is wrong, but I should not be legislating that for other people."
But Hamilton has so far avoided specifics on most issues except to say he hopes to lower the cost of necessities, make healthcare accessible to rural Kansas, and restore "decency" in the national dialogue.
In terms of national politics, a Hamilton-for-Senate bid is sure to be watched by national Democrats to see how much the candidate can win over younger Christians who are put off by the bombastic rhetoric and emphasis on cultural issues by traditional "religious right" leaders and candidates.
Noting that Texas Democrats nominated James Talarico for U.S. Senate, Kansas Democrat Slattery told Newsmax, "He is able to reach the Christian crowd with a new message that deeply respects their religious faith.
"He is reclaiming Jesus in the political arena. Hamilton can do the same thing in Kansas."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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