Rev. Hamilton Announces Kansas Senate Democratic Bid

The Rev. Adam Hamilton, founding pastor of the Church of the Resurrection, the largest United Methodist church in the United States, announced his candidacy Thursday for the Democratic nomination in Kansas's 2026 U.S. Senate race, setting up a challenge to incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.

Hamilton, 61, leads a congregation of about 22,000 members across nine campuses in the Kansas City suburbs. A fifth-generation Kansan who started the church 35 years ago in a funeral home chapel, he has cultivated a national following through dozens of books and video lessons used in churches nationwide. He preached at the 2013 National Prayer Service and previously served in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

After exploring an independent bid to bridge partisan divides, Hamilton opted to run as a Democrat following an 18-stop listening tour. He told supporters that voters urged him to join the primary to avoid splitting the anti-Marshall vote. "Every week, it seemed there was another news story in the last year where I would find myself shaking my head and thinking, we have to do better," Hamilton said. In a campaign video, he added, "I love our state,...