Kansas Senator Roger Marshall is facing backlash for claiming his Democrat rival is 'probably grooming children' as he faces the shame of being the first Republican to lose the deep red state since 1932.
The GOP Senator slammed surging Democrat Adam Hamilton as a 'groomer' at a town hall event this week, as the pair head toward a razor-close election at the November 3 midterms. Hamilton rubbished the allegation, which Marshall based on support for LGBTQ issues and drag shows.
Kansas is traditionally a conservative stronghold and it has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, but recent polls show Hamilton has taken a small lead in the race.
Facing a potential upset in his re-election bid, Marshall attacked his opponent's past support for LGBTQ issues and drag shows, accusing him of 'pushing drag shows for kids.'
'Some people told me he's a groomer,' Marshall told a town hall this week. 'I didn't even know what that term even meant.
'But think about what he pushes. He pushes drag shows for kids, so is that grooming? Yes, it probably is, it probably is grooming,' Marshall said. 'He sponsors gay pride shows.'
In response, a Hamilton spokesperson described the Republican as 'increasingly unhinged', and described the attack as an 'inexplicable smear.'
The Senate race in Kansas has turned increasingly ugly in the closing weeks as Marshall faces the prospect of a humiliating loss for his party.
President Trump planned a rally in Kansas today, which he canceled, then reinstated amid growing panic he's in for a drubbing from voters come Tuesday.
Trump attacked Hamilton as a 'radical left lunatic.'
At one event, Trump said Hamilton 'believes in making children transgender', and told supporters that if they voted for the Democrat they would 'find out that you've elected a pervert.'
Kansas Senator Roger Marshall is facing backlash for claiming his Democrat rival is 'probably grooming children' in a desperate move as he faces a re-election loss
The attack comes as polls show Democrat candidate and megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton has taken a surprising lead over Marshall in traditionally-conservative Kansas
President Trump has joined Marshall on the campaign trail in recent days as the Republican faces the prospect of losing to a Democrat in a Kansas Senate race for the first time in almost 100 years
In one of Marshall's ads against Hamilton, he showed footage of the methodist pastor standing next to danding drag queens, as the Republican said his opponent 'preaches the gospel of woke.'
Hamilton says in the ad that there are a 'whole array of sexualities', and the Democrat's support for LGBTQ issues in the past has become a common theme of Republican attacks in the contentious race.
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It comes as Marshall's campaign has also attempted to smear Hamilton, the senior pastor at the largest United Methodist church in the US, for allegedly failing to prevent sexual abuse at his church.
In a campaign ad from Marshall, he alleged that Hamilton did not protect youth members of his church from a volunteer who sexually abused young boys on a camp retreat hosted by Hamilton's church, the Church of the Resurrection.
Hamilton has denied any wrongdoing in the handling of sexual abuse allegations at his church's retreat, which unfolded in 2005 involving a volunteer camp counselor.
That counselor was ultimately reported to the police and was convicted, but Marshall accused Hamilton of having 'protected a pedophile' in a series of vicious attack ads to cut down his surging Democrat opponent.
In one ad, Marshall said: 'Boys molested at Hamilton's church camp. Victims reported the predator. Hamilton's church swept it under the rug, then welcomed the pervert back to do it again.'
Hamilton has maintained that he was not involved in the investigation or the church's handling of the case, and the Kansas City Star described Marshall's closing attack ad as 'misleading.'
Hamilton has surged into the lead thanks to his religion-forward message and moderate platform, and he often touts his decades leading one of America's largest megachurches on the campaign trail
The election in Kansas has grown increasingly hostile and contentious in recent weeks, with Trump telling supporters that if voters elect Hamilton, they would 'find out that you've elected a pervert'
The Republican's fierce rhetoric in the closing stages of the race comes as Marshall faces the prospect of becoming the first GOP candidate to lose a Senate race in Kansas in almost 100 years.
In a stunning poll released on October 30 by The Washington Post, Hamilton led the race with a commanding 52 percent of the vote to Marshall's 43 percent.
Other polls show Hamilton with a roughly three point lead, after Marshall previously enjoyed healthy leads in the race earlier in the year.
Sen. @RogerMarshallMD (R-KS): "This is one of the best economies I've ever seen in my lifetime." pic.twitter.com/4odXYKKy9s
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 28, 2026
With his poll numbers struggling, Hamilton has enlisted the help of President Trump and Vice President JD Vance to help stump for him on the campaign trail in recent weeks.
On Friday, the White House briefly cancelled then rescheduled more rallied with Marshall in Kansas, and the president said he will not attend a rally in Salina, Kansas on Sunday.
Hamilton, seen with his wife LaVon, describes himself as an 'independent-minded Democrat'
Marshall, seen with his wife Laina, has fallen behind in many recent polls
Hamilton has surged into the lead thanks to his religion-forward message and moderate platform, and he often touts his decades leading one of America's largest megachurches on the campaign trail.
When he announced his run for the Senate in April, Hamilton described himself as an 'independent-minded Democrat', separating himself from the more extreme far-left factions of the Democratic Party.
'In a world that feels more and more divided, I've had the privilege of being a pastor for 36 years of a church that's roughly equally divided between Republicans, Democrats and independents,' Hamilton said at the time.
'Our people love each other precisely because of their differences.'
The Daily Mail has contacted Hamilton and Marshall's campaigns for comment.
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