Rev. Adam Hamilton Runs for Senate in Kansas

0:00Reverend Adam Hamilton, pastor of the nation's largest United Methodist Church, right here in Suburban Kansas City, just jumped into the race for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Kansas. His church of the resurrection started small, but now spans nine campuses on 76 acres, drawing thousands weekly. He's taken on incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall and a state that's long been a GOP lock, with the primary set for August 4. After this week, Hamilton announced after considering an independent run to bridge divides, but Democrats convinced him it'd split the anti-Marshall. Vote, Marshall won by more than 11 percentage points in 2020, even as Biden flipped the state presidentially. Now with eight other lesser-known Dems in the mix, some might bow out, shaking up his unexpected contest. Folks are buzzing, because Hamilton's no political newbie in influence, he's a fifth generation in Kansas, who built his mega-church from a funeral home. Chapel, raised millions for missions and authored dozens of books used nationwide.

1:02His congregation mixes Republicans, Democrats, and Independence evenly, and he's preached on loving immigrants, opposing strict abortion vans, and pushing for LGBTQ inclusion in his denomination. Johnson County, his home base, with over 643,000 residents, one in five Kansas, has turned blue, voting against Trump twice, and helping elect a Democratic governor, despite the GOP legislature. Hamilton calls himself a liberal conservative, blending views to appeal to disaffected Republicans and Independence, like in recent gubernatorial wins. As he scales back preaching to 12 to 18 sermons a year, if elected, Hamilton's pitching a future where parties collaborate on real fixes. Turning his pastoral pull into political momentum in this red-state wildcard race. This has been Durham News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with The Story.