Kansas, a solidly red state, is having a surprisingly competitive Senate race this fall, with incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) facing Democratic pastor Adam Hamilton. And now, Hamilton has received an endorsement from a former Republican governor of the state.
Bill Graves served two terms as Kansas governor, and this week he announced he’s crossing party lines to back Hamilton.
“With our nation facing increasing partisan gridlock and division, it’s time Kansas does something different,” Graves said this week, per Alternet, which cited an op-ed Graves wrote in the Kansas City Star. “For the last six years, Sen. Roger Marshall has turned his back on Kansas. 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 am proud to endorse him.”
“For the last six years, Sen. Roger Marshall has turned his back on Kansas.” — Former Kansas GOP Gov. Bill Graves
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) September 9, 2026
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Graves added, per the report, that he knows “where politics should end and when public service must begin.”
“Once the votes are counted and the winners of the respective races for public office are determined, it’s time to put politics on the shelf and begin the hard work that’s required of you for all the people,” the former governor said.
Wow, Roger Marshall’s habit of arresting and jailing his patients made the front page of the New York Times pic.twitter.com/mcH3LNcpme
— tyson brody (@tysonbrody) September 9, 2026
“While there are many who will scoff at the notion of working together for the benefit of everyone, it is imperative that we reestablish that style of governing,” Graves said. “Unless we do so, we are doomed to a continuation of the ugly politics of neither party yielding to the concerns of the other. And in doing so, we will guarantee that large numbers of citizens will never have their needs addressed.”
Marshall was in the news earlier this week when the New York Times reported that, during his earlier career as a doctor, Marshall had sued 700 patients for unpaid debts and had even had 81 of them arrested.
Photo courtesy of an X screenshot.
