Billboards portraying Kansas senator Roger Marshall relaxing in a Hawaiian shirt at a Florida beach have been unveiled as Democrats seek to portray the Republican incumbent as out of touch in one of America’s most traditionally conservative states.
The signs, displayed in Kansas City and Wichita, carry the slogan: “Traveling to Sarasota? Say hi to Senator Roger Marshall.” They were funded by United Futures PAC, which supports Marshall’s Democratic challenger, the pastor Adam Hamilton.
The campaign is focused on Marshall’s home in Sarasota, Florida, which Hamilton has repeatedly cited as evidence that the senator is more connected to the Sunshine State than to Kansas. Marshall says the property was damaged by a hurricane and has been uninhabitable for two years; it was put up for sale in March.
A spokesman for United Futures PAC said Marshall “asks Kansans for their votes every six years and then heads down to his home in Florida”, arguing that voters would decide in November whether to send him there full-time.
The attack comes as the Senate race has become unexpectedly competitive. President Donald Trump won Kansas by 16 percentage points in 2024, but rising fuel costs, tariffs and difficulties facing farmers and ranchers have created potential vulnerabilities for the Republican Party.
Diesel, widely used by lorries and agricultural machinery, is reported to be 79% more expensive than a year ago and almost a dollar higher than 30 days earlier. The increase has put pressure on farmers’ harvest projections.
Ranchers have also objected to the Trump administration’s decision to suspend tariffs on 300 metric tonnes of Argentine beef in an effort to reduce prices. The policy has left some facing potential losses of up to 600 dollars per head.
Marshall has sought to distance himself from the administration over immigration raids in western Kansas, after industry leaders warned that damage to local workforces could contribute to higher beef prices. “When ICE operates in Kansas, it needs to coordinate with our local law enforcement,” he said in a post on X.
He has generally defended Mr Trump’s strategy towards Iran, while saying energy prices would fall once the war ended. “I want the war to be over as soon as anybody does,” Marshall said during a debate this month.
Bob Beatty, chairman of political science at Washburn University in Topeka, said the combination of Mr Trump’s declining popularity, pressure on agriculture and Hamilton’s appeal to moderate Republicans created “a perfect storm” for the Democrat.
“There’s no doubt he can win,” Mr Beatty said, although he noted that Kansas’s long Republican history meant voters might not believe a Democratic victory was possible until it happened.
The Kansas Senate race tightens
Marshall was elected to the Senate in 2020 after previously serving in the House. No Democrat has won a Kansas Senate seat since 1932, but recent polling has suggested Hamilton is within reach of an upset.
An Emerson College and Nexstar poll put Hamilton on 45% and Marshall on 43%, effectively a tie within the survey’s margin of error. The Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball have both moved the contest from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican”.
Hamilton, who leads the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, switched from the Republican Party to the Democrats in April when he announced his candidacy. He describes himself as a centrist and has tried to win over moderate Republicans, particularly in the Kansas City area.
Marshall has attacked him as a liberal Democrat, saying his “mask is slipping”. His campaign has also accused Hamilton, a political newcomer, of being a “radical Democrat” and portrayed him as a “snake oil salesman” who profits excessively from his megachurch.
Hamilton, meanwhile, has attempted to tie Marshall closely to Mr Trump and to present the senator as a Washington politician disconnected from Kansas communities. His campaign has also focused on Marshall’s record as a doctor.
A report cited in the campaign alleged that Marshall and lawyers for his former obstetrics and gynaecology practice sued about 700 patients over unpaid medical bills and pursued wage garnishments. It also said 81 patients were arrested after missing court dates.
One Hamilton advert featured a former patient who said she was arrested while eight months pregnant after missing a 50-dollar payment. Marshall’s lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter, describing the advert as false and defamatory.
Marshall has rejected the criticism, saying his practice provided free care to many patients and that sending some unpaid accounts to collections was “the common business practice”.
His opponents have also highlighted the absence of a Kansas town hall since 2025, when Marshall left an event after contentious exchanges. He has said such meetings had become “non-productive and dangerous”.
At a debate at the Kansas State Fair, Marshall defended his time in Florida by saying the property was “a short hour’s drive down a gravel road here” and that he went there to see his grandchildren. A jeering crowd responded: “You don’t live here!”
Hamilton faces the difficult task of securing overwhelming support from Democrats, most unaffiliated voters and a significant minority of Republicans. Republicans make up 45% of the Kansas electorate, while Democrats account for 24%.
Former Republican governor Bill Graves and Arch Naramore, who challenged Marshall in the Republican primary, have endorsed Hamilton. Mr Trump and Vice-President JD Vance have backed Marshall, with the president calling Hamilton a “radical left lunatic” and giving the incumbent his “complete and total endorsement”.
Mr Beatty said the president’s support might not be enough to protect Marshall. “Trump isn’t doing Marshall any favours,” he said.
