Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and Democrat Adam Hamilton locked horns in a contentious debate Wednesday night, with polls showing a close tie in ruby-red Kansas with less than two weeks until Election Day.
Marshall and Hamilton criticized and attacked the war with Iran, immigration enforcement, health care and tariff policies, and other controversies that arose during their unexpected battleground campaigns.
Hamilton, a megachurch pastor and first-time candidate, describes himself as an “independent-minded Democrat.”
“I’m not a Socialist person,” he said. “I’m a center guy. I’m going to work hard for all Kansans, Republicans, independents and Democrats.”
Marshall warned viewers not to believe it and repeatedly portrayed Hamilton as an ally of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. During the hour-long debate, Marshall mentioned Schumer 17 times.
“My opponent will tell any lie he can to get into that office and hand control over to Chuck Schumer,” Marshall said, despite Hamilton’s promise that he would not support Schumer as party leader if he were elected.
At the opening of the forum, both candidates faced questions about the controversy affecting their campaigns. Marshall refuted reports that he sued hundreds of patients for unpaid medical bills during his time as a practicing physician, calling the accusations “blatant lies.”
Hamilton was pressed on whether his church handled reports of child sexual abuse appropriately. He denied giving permission for the suspect to return to the church camp, but said: “I should have checked to make sure he wasn’t going back. It was my mistake.”
Marshall spent the night defending much of President Donald Trump’s agenda, including his recent deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports. He also defended the tariffs Trump has imposed on U.S. allies.
“Tariffs are working,” Marshall said, adding that the tariff policy is leading to a “manufacturing renaissance” as jobs are returning to the United States.
Hamilton countered that tariffs were alienating trading partners and allies. “This is creating instability, chaos and corruption,” he said.
Hamilton blasted Marshall for supporting the Iran war “time and time again,” while Marshall said he wanted to see the conflict end “as quickly as possible.”
Marshall blames Ukraine for high oil prices.
“The real issue with diesel costs, especially the No. 1 issue, is the war in Ukraine, so diesel production is down,” he said. “But beyond that, why are we dependent on diesel imports? It’s because of the Green New Deal policies that my opponent supports.”
Asked to identify points of disagreement with Trump, Marshall pointed to a series of ICE raids at meatpacking plants in southwestern Kansas. Marshall said he called Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to tell him the action was “not quite right” and publicly urged ICE to better coordinate with local law enforcement.
Marshall compared his relationship with Trump to his relationship with his wife.
“Just like my wife, I can disagree with her. Now, my wife is always right and President Trump is not always right,” he said. “But I do think we have a good relationship and I can pick up the phone and talk to him about the pros and cons of something he’s considering.”
Republicans are pouring resources into the campaign to prevent Hamilton from becoming the first Democratic senator from Kansas in nearly a century. On Monday, Trump held a rally near Wichita to drum up support for Marshall, while the Republican Senior Political Action Committee launched a $14 million negative ad blitz targeting Hamilton.
“I hate to say it — you’re leaning a little toward purple,” Trump told the rally crowd on Monday. “We will re-elect one of the greatest men of all time, Roger Marshall, and we will defeat the communists, jihadists, and corrupt anti-American lunatics once and for all.”
Marshall and Hamilton met Wednesday for their second and final debate. Marshall was booed and chanted during the first debate last month at the Kansas State Fair.