Democratic Senate candidate from Kansas refuses to campaign with Kamala Harris: 'She can stay in California'
Adam Hamilton, the Democratic pastor running for the Senate in a red state, acknowledges that the former vice president wouldn't help him win over Kansas voters.
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The Democratic candidate for the Senate for Kansas, Adam Hamilton, refused to allow Kamala Harris to campaign alongside him. On the podcast "The Conversation" by Politico, the candidate was asked about his race against Republican Roger Marshall and the possibility of campaigning alongside the former vice president and 2024 presidential candidate.
Hamilton, 62, is the pastor of the Church of the Resurrection, the largest United Methodist congregation in the country, with about 25,000 members across nine locations in the Kansas City area. He won the Democratic primary against 11 other candidates and will face Senator Marshall, who is seeking his second term in the Senate.
Although Kansas has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932, and President Donald Trump won there by 16 points in 2024, the latest polls show a neck-and-neck race heading into November. Even Vice President JD Vance visited the city of Olathe in mid-September to endorse Marshall.
According to data published by AdImpact, the Senate Leadership Fund, the party's main Senate super PAC, has booked more than $8 million in ads starting this weekend. The ads portray him as a "radical" Democrat, a far cry from the moderate image on which Hamilton built his campaign. "Adam Hamilton, the two-faced one. Too extreme for Kansas," says the ad's voiceover.
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"Harris can stay in California"
In this context, Hamilton was interviewed by Dasha Burns for Politico. The Democrat addressed the possibility of some high-profile Democrats traveling to Kansas and ruled out the possibility of campaigning alongside Kamala Harris.
"It wasn’t like I was a huge champion for Kamala Harris. People ask me, should she come here and campaign for you? Please, no. Don’t come here to campaign for me," Hamilton replied.
"Harris can stay in California. Yeah, and I mean no disrespect for her. I just think she is not somebody who would win votes here in Kansa," he added.
Hamilton, who has shared the stage with Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, also declined to campaign with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
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