Senate GOP group pours millions into defending Kansas seat
The race for control of the Senate is changing in the final weeks before the midterms, with the GOP defending several traditionally red-leaning states.
Senate Republicans' main super PAC is reallocating millions of dollars to defend a Kansas Senate seat while scaling back investments in a GOP-held North Carolina seat, as the party battles to maintain control of the upper chamber in the upcoming midterms, according to sources. The GOP can afford to lose up to three seats and still retain its Senate majority, but they are facing an unfavorable political environment with President Trump's party in mind.
As of Friday, the Senate Leadership Fund had allocated $9.8 million in advertising in Kansas, a stark contrast to their $17.5 million investment in the state during the 2020 election when incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall first won the seat. The group has ceased future ad spending in North Carolina, sources revealed.
Kansas is a deep-red state, and incumbent Republican Sen. Marshall is set to defend his position against pastor Adam Hamilton, who aims to become the first Democrat to represent the state in the Senate since 1932. Recent polls indicate the race as a statistical tie, with Hamilton hoping to capitalize on discontent over energy prices and the Iran war.
Marshall's campaign released an ad accusing Hamilton of covering up child abuse in the church where he serves as senior pastor. Hamilton denied the claim in a response ad, stating that the church investigated allegations against a youth retreat volunteer more than two decades ago, a claim substantiated by a Kansas City Star investigation of court records. Hamilton called the ad "exactly the kind of dirty politics … that everybody hates."
Meanwhile, polling in North Carolina's Senate contest shows former two-term Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper leading GOP nominee Michael Whatley, a Trump ally who previously chaired the Republican National Committee. Trump expressed concerns about Whatley's chances in an interview, stating that he hopes he wins. Cooper's campaign manager, Jeff Allen, noted that North Carolina remains a 50-50 state and emphasized that Cooper will fight for the voters while Whatley continues to enrich himself at their expense.
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