Megachurch pastor challenges century-long Republican streak in Kansas Senate race

Adam Hamilton, founder of the largest United Methodist congregation in the U.S., is making his first bid for public office as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Kansas. He is challenging Republican incumbent Roger Marshall in a state where no Democrat has won a Senate seat since 1932.

Hamilton, 61, built the Church of the Resurrection from a small funeral-home chapel gathering in 1990 into a 25,000-member congregation with nine locations in the Kansas City area. He has written more than 30 books on Christian theology and says his flock is almost evenly split among Democrats, Republicans, and independents.

His campaign leans on centrist themes of unity and decency, while also stressing affordability and criticizing Republican cuts to food assistance and Medicaid. Hamilton says he is not running to evangelize from Washington and would continue as senior pastor, preaching 12 to 18 times a year if elected. He is currently on unpaid leave and has gone 11 weeks without a sermon this summer, though he still spends several hours weekly on pastoral duties like hospital visits.

Marshall, a fifth-generation farmer and former obstetrician, is rallying rural conservatives and warns that a Hamilton win could tip Senate control to Democrats. He has called Hamilton "too woke for Kansas" and mocked his suburban background, saying Hamilton "doesn't know a heifer from a steer."

Conservative critics, including Republican Senator Ted Cruz, have accused Hamilton of heresy over a 2022 sermon in which he suggested non-Christians could receive salvation after death. Hamilton defends his view, citing Methodist founder John Wesley and author C.S. Lewis as possible allies. "If he's going to call me a heretic, he's not the first," Hamilton said.

Republican-aligned political action committees have also run ads claiming Hamilton urged repentance for eating beef and helped fund a drag queen story hour—both disputed by his campaign. Marshall blames Hamilton for a split in the United Methodist Church over LGBTQ+ clergy, a change Hamilton supported after a gradual evolution in his views.

Despite the attacks, some voters are warming to the pastor. Nolan Guyer, a 72-year-old Navy veteran, said he initially worried about voting for a minister but was won over. Retired teacher Jann Briggs said Hamilton is "finally somebody who's speaking the right words."

Hamilton says he prayed during Lent about entering the race and feels "87.2% sure" he is called to run. "I'm not running for the Senate to make everybody in this country Christian or United Methodist," he said. "I just want to know, when did it become 'woke' to care for your neighbor?"