Adam Hamilton touts conservative Evangelical support, shared values with voting bloc
Pastor and author Adam Hamilton, who's running for the U.S. Senate to represent Kansas as a Democrat, says he's reaching out to conservative Evangelical voters, many of whom he says are pledging their support.
Hamilton, who secured the Democratic nomination to run against incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., held a press call on Monday afternoon to announce his “Leading From the Middle” statewide tour.
Hamilton said in his opening comments that the tour was about “trying to bring people together, left and right, Republicans and Democrats, to work to solve really big problems.”
When The Christian Post asked how Hamilton was planning to reach out to conservative Evangelical voters in Kansas as part of bringing people together, Hamilton replied that they're “absolutely” part of his outreach and that he's “already hearing from many of them” that “we’re supporting you.”
“Part of the reason why they are” expressing their support, Hamilton said, was because “when we talk about our values,” we're talking “about things that are common for all humans, but certainly for people of faith.”
“So we talk about what’s missing right now is ‘loving your neighbor as you love yourself,’” Hamilton told CP, noting that one rural Kansan that he spoke to said he “won’t vote for anybody who doesn’t believe we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves.”
“Of course, that’s Jesus who tells us to do that, and Moses does the same thing in Leviticus. And, you know, we think about doing justice and loving kindness and walking with humility, which is Micah 6:8.”
Hamilton added that “so much of my message is rooted and grounded in things that conservative Evangelical Christians would say ‘that is what I believe, those are my values. Caring for my neighbor, being concerned for children.’”
“These are things that I think Evangelical and conservative Evangelical Christians would say yes and amen to,” he concluded.
Hamilton graduated from Oral Roberts University in 1985 and holds a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Methodist University. He served on an advisory council on faith-based and neighborhood partnerships during the Obama administration and delivered the sermon at Obama’s second inaugural prayer service.
Hamilton is the lead pastor of Resurrection Church of Leawood, Kansas, which is one of the largest UMC congregations in the global denomination. He has also written over 30 books.
A theological progressive, Hamilton announced in February that he was launching an exploratory committee and a listening tour for a possible Senate run as an independent candidate.
“The American experiment feels fragile. Families and communities are divided,” he said at the time. “We are better together and we need leaders who will work to unite us rather than seeking to divide.”
Hamilton announced his campaign at a press conference held at Harmon Park in Prairie Village in April, saying that he would run as a Democrat “dedicated to leading from the center.”
Before Hamilton announced his candidacy, the Kansas Republican Party filed an ethics complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that he unlawfully used church resources for his exploratory committee. The complaint specifically expressed concern that Hamilton posted a video in which he floated his plans for a U.S. Senate bid on his church’s website and shared it via email with his congregation.
Additional concerns in the complaint centered around the church posting a frequently asked questions page about the pastor’s potential candidacy. A Hamilton campaign spokesperson told CP at the time that the complaint was politically motivated and that the video cited in the complaint was strictly informational and didn’t urge viewers to support Hamilton’s potential campaign.
In May, the Hamilton campaign released information on his stance on some hot-button issues, identifying him as being pro-choice on abortion, anti-tariffs, supporting a federal minimum wage increase and either term limits or age limits for public office.
