Adam Hamilton, a Democratic Senate candidate in Kansas, said in a 2018 webinar that he had urged his mostly white congregation to declare “Black Lives Matter,” a message he said prompted some members to leave his church.
“So there’s one way to put it, but even so, you know, I’ve had people leave the church because of it,” Hamilton said.
In a September 2018 webinar, Pastoral care in a partisan era,Hamilton, liberal united methodist pastordiscussed what he said were the challenges of confronting racism in rural America, recalling the Confederate flags he saw while driving through rural Missouri.
“It’s going to be very difficult to preach against racism in some places,” Hamilton said, describing rural areas where “you see a lot of Confederate flags” and hearing “interesting” things on local radio.
“So, if I were in these churches, I still have to ask the question: I might have a gospel command about racism, but I still have to ask the question: How do I communicate that in a way that people can hear it?” he said during the webinar.
More than a year before George Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests and unrest, Hamilton explained why he told his mostly white congregation that they needed to say black lives matter, arguing that many black people question whether their lives matter.
“The reason we have to say black lives matter is because right now people feel like black lives don’t matter. The reason we don’t have to say ‘white lives matter’ is because no one questions whether white lives matter,” Hamilton said. “But the reason we have to say ‘black lives matter’ is because right now for many black people, and probably others, there’s a serious question: do black lives really matter.”
In response to inquiries from The Daily Telegraph, Hamilton’s campaign said he had not called anyone a racist. The campaign said his perspective is on how to discuss issues with different communities and that he has previously affirmed that white lives matter and blue lives matter too.
“Adam has practiced listening for 36 years as a pastor, reaffirming his belief that we can find common ground even on the most difficult issues,” campaign spokesman Tyson Brody said in a statement to The Daily Telegraph. “Unlike Roger Marshall, Adam will not seek to divide Kansans by race, political party or the ability to pay medical debt at 18 percent interest.”
In the same webinar, Hamilton, who calls himself a theological evangelical but socially liberal, said he Strategically time his sermons on divisive issues. In a separate church address in February 2019, he discussed his uncertainty about advising parents of transgender young children, The Telegraph previously reported.
“Do we provide guidance? Do we not provide guidance? What are we doing here? I think that’s the question here [on the topic of bisexuality]this issue also arises when we think about younger children on transgender issues,” Hamilton said during conversation About sexual ethics.
“I’m trying to figure out, you know, because I run into this every now and then with parents of younger kids, and it’s like, okay, should I let my kids fully try to think about these things and their understanding of their own identity? Or what’s your role in that?” Hamilton added.
polling show hamilton Incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall is locked in a surprisingly tight race in a state that hasn’t sent a Democratic senator since the 1930s. Republicans have transfer Some financial resources to support Marshall’s re-election campaign.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, acknowledged earlier this month that the race in Kansas is tight, daily telegraph Previously reported.
“I believe Kansas is a competitive state,” he said at a news conference. “However, I will say that when I look at all the data, it tells me Roger Marshall is going to be successful, albeit closer than I would like.”