New ad from the Main Street Fund uses Adam Hamilton’s own words to tie his megachurch record to a leftward agenda, raising questions about his Senate run and how his ministry’s positions line up with Kansas values.
Adam Hamilton is running for U.S. Senate in Kansas, and a new ad has pushed his church record into the campaign spotlight. The ad pulls clips of Hamilton speaking on race, the environment, and LGBTQ issues, framing those statements as evidence of a broader ideological tilt. The goal is simple: show voters the pastor behind the candidate and let Kansans decide what that means for a statewide race.
The ad relies on Hamilton’s own public remarks and institutional statements rather than anonymous claims. It highlights a June 2020 sermon where he said, “Black lives matter, marching for righteousness,” and, “By virtue of being white, I have to repent.” Those lines are presented alongside his church’s 2020 statement titled “A Vision for Racial Justice,” which included the line, “We believe that all lives can’t matter until all Black Lives Matter. As followers of Jesus Christ, we must condemn racism in every form, whether unconscious or conscious, systemic or arbitrary.”
Hamilton has also elaborated on that stance in other forums. In a July 2020 podcast he said, “And at this point, we all know this on this podcast I’m suspecting, but part of the reason why we have to say “Black Lives Matter” is because right now a lot of Black people don’t feel like their lives matter as much as white people’s lives and there’s an important role to say.” Those words are used in the ad to argue that his theology aligns with contemporary racial activism.
The ad doesn’t stop at race. It includes clips where Hamilton questions common Kansas economic practices in environmental terms. “Cattle end up producing more carbon dioxide. I’m calling us to repentance, maybe changing your diet,” he said, which the ad juxtaposes with the reality that cattle ranching and the beef industry contribute roughly $11.7 billion to the Kansas economy. That contrast is meant to highlight potential tensions between his moral calls and the livelihoods of many voters.
Beyond sermons and podcasts, the campaign piece points to church programming to make its case on cultural issues. The piece asserts that Hamilton’s church uses funds to pay for drag queen story hours for children, framing that as evidence of institutional support for progressive cultural programming. Those examples are presented together to argue a pattern rather than isolated comments.
The ad is blunt in its messaging about Hamilton’s political direction. “Now Hamilton wants to transition to mega-woke Senator,” the ad says. “Way too woke for Kansas.” That line is aimed squarely at voters who see a difference between pastoral leadership and political representation in a conservative state.
Supporters of Hamilton point to his insistence that he is running for Kansans and not for some national party agenda. In an interview with CNN, he said, “Well, here’s what I remind people of in Kansas: I’m running for the people of Kansas,” Hamilton said. “I’m not running on a national Democratic agenda and I will say this: that there are people further to the Left, but that’s true in everything.”
Critics, including those behind the ad, argue that those assurances don’t erase the record or the rhetoric. From sermons calling for racial repentance to environmental warnings that could conflict with a major state industry, they say voters have a right to know how his ministry has addressed these topics. The ad is built around that premise: push the public record into the open and let Kansas voters judge consistency between words and the job he is seeking.
This is a campaign moment where a pastor’s pulpit becomes political evidence, and that crossover will play differently across the state. Some will view Hamilton’s pastoral statements as principled and pastoral, others as indicators of policy leanings that could affect jobs and culture in Kansas. The debate the ad stokes will be one of the points voters weigh as the race progresses.
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