Senator Roger Marshall, a Republican, and Adam Hamilton, the Democratic pastor of a Kansas City-area megachurch, are set to debate Wednesday night in what might be the most surprisingly competitive Senate race of the midterms.
The last time the two debated, at the Kansas State Fair, a rowdy crowd jeered Mr. Marshall, a moment that was something of a turning point in a contest that, polls suggest, is neck and neck. Wednesday’s debate, which will take place at the studios of WDAF-TV in Kansas City, Mo., is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern time. It will also be broadcast on sister stations in the state, and streamed on WDAF’s website.
Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, but a confluence of factors has made Mr. Marshall’s campaign for a second term harder than he — or national Republicans — expected. Mr. Hamilton has worked to yoke him to Trump administration policies, including tariffs and a war in Iran that has pushed the price of diesel to record highs that have hit the agricultural state particularly hard.
This fall, a New York Times investigation found that Mr. Marshall, an obstetrician-gynecologist, had sued his patients for failing to pay their bills, resulting in the arrest of 81 of them for missing court dates. The report has become a fixture of attack ads against Mr. Marshall, who has said he didn’t want anyone thrown in jail.
The rise of Mr. Hamilton, a former Republican who changed his party registration just this year, has come quickly. The founder of the 24,000-member Church of the Resurrection, the largest United Methodist congregation in the country, he is well known in religious circles and has sought to keep his distance from national Democrats.
Mr. Marshall has framed Mr. Hamilton as a “megachurch C.E.O.,” and he and his allies have attacked Mr. Hamilton for his response to a 2005 report of child sex abuse at a church retreat. (Mr. Hamilton has said his camp should have alerted the police sooner, but has defended its handling of the incident.)
The debate could be the most closely watched moment of the campaign since it began drawing the heavy attention — and extra spending — that comes with tossup status.
Here’s what we’re covering:
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Unexpected Battleground: The race, which once barely registered nationally, has emerged as one of the most unexpected battlegrounds on a midterm map that has rapidly expanded into longtime Republican strongholds. National Republicans who once hoped that red-state incumbents would look after themselves have promised $14 million to save the seat, and the top super PAC for Senate Democrats said this month that it planned to spend $5 million in the race.
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Pulpit to Politics: Mr. Hamilton, who has described voting as “an act of Christian discipleship,” is part of a small but notable cluster of Protestant clergy or seminarians who are pursuing national office as Democrats this cycle. A strong showing by these candidates could remind their party that Republicans do not have a monopoly on the religious vote.
