President Trump rushed to Kansas on Monday in a bid to head off a Democratic Party surge in the Sunflower State, which hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 94 years.
Mr. Trump held a rally in Wichita for incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican locked in the fight of his life against Democrat Adam Hamilton.
A YouGov poll released earlier this month shows Mr. Hamilton holding a 3% lead over Mr. Marshall, 48% to 45%. GBAO Strategies polling shows Mr. Hamilton leading 46% to 41%, while a New York Times/Siena Poll has the two even at 45% apiece. Cumulatively, the polls represent a stunning development for a state where Republican Senate candidates have the longest GOP winning streak in the entire country.
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Mr. Hamilton is a Methodist minister who considered an independent run for Senate before declaring as a Democrat.
In his remarks, the president worked hard to appeal to the evangelical voters who could decide the outcome. White evangelicals voted 81% for Mr. Trump in 2024, compared to 17% who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.
If Republicans are to retain the House and Senate, they will need to mobilize evangelicals in states like Kansas.
Mr. Trump took aim at Mr. Hamilton’s faith, making it a flashpoint in the midterms. He accused Mr. Hamilton of promoting transgender activism through his church.
“Adam Hamilton used church dollars to fund anti-religious transgender activities. He used a lot of church money to fund all of this transgender crap that you are reading about,” Mr. Trump said.
The Hamilton campaign has acknowledged that his church sponsored an event that included transgender individuals, saying the goal was to affirm LGBTQ individuals and welcome a community that has been historically rejected by Christian institutions.
Mr. Trump on multiple occasions assured evangelical voters that he and Republicans such as Mr. Marshall are on their side and should earn their support during the midterms.
“Whether you say Christianity, whether you say evangelical, whether you say Catholic, I was the number one [vote getter] by far. I don’t think there was anyone else in second place.”
National data suggests Republicans still have a stronghold among evangelicals — a Pew survey found that 73% of White evangelical Protestant voters will back their district’s Republican House candidate. But Mr. Trump’s standing in that same group has slipped, from 78% in January 2025 to 58% last month.
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