You’ve heard about U.S. Republican Senator Roger Marshall’s 700 plus lawsuits over medical debt. You’ve heard about Democrat Adam Hamilton’s alleged cover-up of child sex abuse.
But what about the issues that affect everyday Kansans and aren’t included in the tsunami of attack ads flowing from your television, streaming services and phone?
Marshall has nearly ten years in national office to point to his conservative record. Hamilton’s tried hard to differentiate himself from national Democrats — he flirted with an independent run, and wrote a book in 2008 called “Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White” — but what does that actually mean?
Here’s a glimpse at what the two candidates would do if elected to the U.S. Senate.
Early voting has started in some parts of the state, and election day is Nov. 3. Here’s how you can vote.
Affordability
Both candidates are homing in on affordability as it’s considered a top-of-mind issue for many voters.
Marshall has backed a few bipartisan initiatives to lower housing costs. Parts of a bill he helped introduce were incorporated into the largest housing affordability bill in decades. His campaign focuses on making life more affordable for Americans.
He backed the Working Families Tax Cuts and No Tax on Overtime bills, which were swaddled into the larger, controversial One Big Beautiful Bill — which Marshall was a vocal supporter of.
While portions of the bill have been hailed, primarily by Republicans, as a way to make life more affordable, some analyses show the bill disproportionately benefits the rich and cuts programs for low-income Americans.
Marshall has backed Trump's tariffs. Trump’s argument is that the tariffs will incentivize U.S manufacturing and jobs, reduce the trade deficit and counter unfair trade practices. Trump says that the benefits will eventually be felt by all. American consumers are currently feeling the brunt of the increased costs.
Hamilton says these tariffs are part of what’s driving up the cost of housing — National Association of Home Builders said tariffs alone could increase material costs on the average home by as much as $10,000. He says the Senate needs to end Trump’s tariffs, and require congressional approval for any future tariffs.
Trump used existing tariff options, but in a way critics said they weren’t intended to be used. The Supreme court struck down those tariffs. Trump then used a different provision in law to issue new tariffs.
Both Marshall and Hamilton want to curb investors’ share of the housing market. Hamilton’s a fan of the limits that were placed on investors in the large bipartisan housing bill Marshall supported, but says it needs to go further.
Hamilton would push to create tax credits for first time home buyers, firefighters and teachers — a proposal that has bipartisan support.
Healthcare
“The Marshall Plan,” or the Lowering Healthcare Costs for Americans Act, which hasn’t passed, promised a slew of reforms aimed at making healthcare more affordable.
One, which echoes DOGE-era action items, is targeting “ghost enrollees" within the Affordable Care Act marketplace. The Trump administration recently dropped more than 700 thousand Americans from ACA coverage, citing fraud. The act would require ID verification and minimum monthly payments.
His plan would also mandate upfront pricing transparency for medical services which he says would foster market competition.
Marshall has said Medicaid is broken and that doctors will avoid accepting Medicaid patients because of it. He’s in support of work requirements for Medicaid.
Marshall advocated for the One Big Beautiful Bill, which cuts approximately $1 trillion in federal health spending over 10 years, mostly to Medicaid, and is expected to boot 11.8 million Americans from their care, according to the American Medical Association. Marshall has denied that there were cuts to Medicaid.
Around 13,000 Kansans are expected to lose care as a result. Hamilton wants to reverse those cuts.
Kansas has more rural hospitals at immediate risk of closing than any other state. Both candidates are focused on protecting and investing in rural hospitals.
The Rural Health Transformation Program — in part designed to help soften the blow of coming Medicaid cuts — was funded though the One Big Beautiful Bill, and has brought $221 million to Kansas healthcare providers in its first year.
Hamilton has said that while he personally holds an anti-abortion view, he’d protect reproductive freedom. He’d also aim to codify access to birth control into law.
Marshall is staunchly anti-abortoin, though his 2020 campaign brought up the nuances of his stance by testimony of him helping end ectopic pregnancies as an OBGYN— which isn’t considered abortion by some anti-abortion groups.
Kansas-specific issues
The aviation industry employs tens of thousands of people in the state, and is one of Kansas’ biggest employers.
Bombardier is a Canadian aerospace manufacturer with a huge footprint in Wichita. In the midst of Trump's trade war, he threatened to block the company from selling planes in the U.S. — which both Marshall and Hamilton vowed to stop.
The two also agreed on a recent farm bill, though they disagree on the issue of tariffs as they relate to farmers. Marshall has said “patriot” farmers would support the tariffs — which are both driving up costs and hurting their sales — despite the pain.
One thing nearly all national politicians brag about is their ability to bring funding to Kansas. Marshall has bragged about bringing more than $100 million to Kansas for infrastructure projects, but he voted against the exact bill that brought that funding to the state.
National issues
Marshall and Hamilton largely agree that data centers need to be regulated.
Marshall has said the people of Kansas are “on fire” over data centers — and has called for the United States to “stay ahead of China,” while also establishing the correct guardrails. Hamilton has echoed that sentiment.
Hamilton wants to get out of the war in Iran. As a pastor, he’s preached peace for decades. He’d vote to stop some — but not all — weapons transfers to Israel, and has said that he wants to make sure that Israel is safe while condemning Israel’s destruction of Gaza.
Marshall, a veteran, has backed Trump’s war in Iran. He says the economic cost is the price to pay for national security, and that preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon will help future generations.
He’s an ally of Israel, and introduced legislation that would provide assistance to Israel without tying it to Ukraine aid, as some other proposals have. He’s fought against sending more money to Ukraine.
David Graham is also on the November ballot. He’s got about 4% of the vote, according to an Emerson College poll, and according to that same poll 8% of voters are undecided.
Grace Hills reports on politics for the Kansas News Service.
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