A Kansas Democrat’s red-state pitch: A two-term limit and no Trump trials

Adam Hamilton, the pastor who leads the biggest United Methodist congregation in the country, is mounting a stronger-than-expected Senate bid in Kansas as a Democrat, and he is selling himself as an outsider who would not behave like a career politician. He told MS NOW he would stay in the Senate for two terms at most and would not devote his time to probing President Donald Trump or the president's family, something Democratic leaders have suggested they would do if they win Congress. Hamilton, 62, said Congress should set "guardrails" against a repeat of recent history.

Kansas has not sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly a hundred years, and just a quarter of its voters are Democrats. Polls show a close contest with Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, and the Cook Political Report shifted the race from "likely Republican" to "lean Republican." Marshall's chief of staff, Brent Robertson, countered in a statement that Hamilton is a liberal Democrat who will not complete one term.

Hamilton favors capping total service at 18 years across Congress and the White House, but would limit himself to 12. He casts himself as a Democrat with an independent streak, and has said a campaign visit from former Vice President Kamala Harris would damage his prospects. At a Friday lawn gathering in Eastborough, voters from several political backgrounds, including Republican Pam Harnden, 77, and independent Dawn, 57, cited his centrism. Libertarian Cyndra Whiddon said he "hasn’t been bought yet."

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →