ADAM Hamilton won the US Senate race in Kansas on Tuesday, according to media projections, ousting Trump-backed Republican Roger Marshall to become the state’s first Democrat elected senator in 94 years and helping Democrats cement control of the chamber.
It was a striking Democratic gain in a state President Donald Trump carried by more than 16 percentage points in 2024 and where the race had initially been expected to be safely Republican.
Republicans held a 53-47 Senate majority going into Tuesday’s elections, with Democrats needing a net gain of four seats to take control.
Hamilton, pastor of the country’s largest United Methodist congregation, campaigned on affordability and bipartisanship, calling himself an “independent-minded Democrat” and rejecting Republican portrayals of him as far left.
