Democrats win the US Senate race in Kansas for the first time since 1932

A sensational victory in a conservative state

In the US congressional midterm elections held on November 3, Democrat Adam Hamilton defeated incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall and became the first Democrat to win a Senate election in Kansas since 1932. According to AFP, this is based on polls by American media; according to the New York Times tally cited by Gazeta.uz, Hamilton received 51% of the vote, Marshall 46%, and Libertarian Party candidate David Graham received another 3%.

A campaign against Marshall, not against Trump

Hamilton is a pastor at a Methodist megachurch who, until recently, was registered as a Republican; he considered running as an independent but ultimately ran as a Democrat. As AFP describes, he campaigned as a moderate, distanced himself from the party's national leadership, promised not to support Chuck Schumer for Senate majority leader, and criticized the immigration policy of Joe Biden's administration. He directed his attacks mainly at Marshall and congressional Republicans rather than at the president: “I am not running against President Trump,” he said at the final debate. Marshall, by contrast, told voters that voting for him meant supporting the president's agenda.

Why the result was a blow to Trump

For Donald Trump, this is a painful defeat: he won Kansas three times in presidential elections by margins of more than 10 points, and last week he visited the state for the first time since 2018 to support Marshall. One of the campaign's themes was tariffs: Hamilton demanded the repeal of Trump's tariffs and the introduction of a rule requiring congressional approval for new tariffs, while Marshall insisted they were working. According to AFP, Kansas farmers, already squeezed by rising fuel prices due to the war with Iran, were hurt by retaliatory tariffs on soy and wheat exports, and cattle ranchers were angered by Trump's plan to lower tariffs on beef imports. In rural Neosho County, where 73% of voters had backed Trump two years earlier, Hamilton campaign signs appeared in the final weeks of the campaign.

The midterm election context

The victory in Kansas fits into the overall picture of the day: according to Gazeta.uz, the Democrats won majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, and they performed successfully even in Republican strongholds. Americans elected all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 35 senators; before the vote, Republicans held a minimal advantage in the lower chamber — 218 seats to the Democrats' 214. Trump said he was “somewhat surprised” by the results. A separate sensation was Gina Ortega's victory in Texas: she became the first Democrat in 30 years and the first Latina governor in the state's history, defeating Republican Greg Abbott; Democrat James Talarico also won the Senate seat from Texas. Hamilton thanked voters on X: “Thank you, Kansas. Thank you for the trust you have placed in me and for the opportunity to fight for your interests in Washington. See you again soon.”