Another Republican Ex-Governor of Kansas Endorses Democrat in Tight Senate Race

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Adam Hamilton of Kansas/AP Photo – Colin E. Braley

A second Republican former governor of Kansas has endorsed Democrat Adam Hamilton for U.S. Senate in the state.

Mike Hayden, who was governor from 1987 to 1991, is backing Hamilton over Republican Sen. Roger Marshall in what has become an unexpectedly close race. On Friday, Semafor reported that the GOP-aligned Senate leadership fund is redirecting millions of dollars to the state in what CNN’s political director called an “unbelievable development.”

Writing in Friday’s Wichita Eagle, Hayden said he is backing Hamilton because Marshall is not fighting for Kansas:

Governing should always center around the best interests of the people.

Right now, our sitting senator, Roger Marshall, is failing to live up to that standard.

I grew up in western Kansas, around the farmers and fields that feed the world.

Kansans work hard. In return, they deserve champions in Congress who fight for them every day.

But the policies currently coming out of Washington are leaving them behind.

Chaotic tariffs are making it harder for Kansas farmers to sell what they grow.

The war with Iran is causing record-high diesel prices, driving up the cost of planting, harvesting, and hauling, and more family farms are at risk of going bankrupt.

Sen. Marshall time and again has chosen to back the tariffs and the war, despite what is happening back in Kansas.
Kansans need a senator willing to stand up and say this isn’t working, and to press for relief and real solutions.

Sen. Marshall time and again has chosen to back the tariffs and the war, despite what is happening back in Kansas.

Last month, former two-term Republican Governor Bill Graves (1995-2003) recorded a four-minute video endorsing Hamilton.

“For the last six years, Senator Roger Marshall has turned his back on Kansas,” Graves said. “In contrast, Adam Hamilton stands as a bulwark of kindness, humility, and service to others. It is for those reasons and many more that I believe Kansas should send Adam Hamilton to the U.S. Senate. And I’m proud to endorse him.”

Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1932.

Republicans control the Senate 53-47, and Democrats will need to net four seats to retake control of the chamber.

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