Kansas megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton has announced he will run for the U.S. Senate in Kansas as a Democrat.
The 61-year-old United Methodist Church pastor and author made the announcement Thursday morning at a press conference in Harmon Park in Prairie Village, following a two-month listening tour across the state.
“I’m an independent-minded Democrat, dedicated to leading from the center,” Hamilton said. “It will take leaders in our country who put service above self, country before party and people before politics.
“Government is not meant to solve all of our problems, but decisions in Washington are not meant to make them worse. We need politicians who will actually listen to their constituents, care about the needs of ordinary people and work together to solve problems rather than making them worse.”
Hamilton, a theological progressive who long advocated for the UMC to change its longheld opposition to same-sex marriage, told The Kansas City Star ahead of the announcment that he chose to run as a Democrat based on feedback from residents during his listening tour.
“The first thing I heard everywhere I went — I don’t think there was a single place where the first thing somebody said wasn’t, ‘Why don’t you run as a Democrat? We’re afraid that you’re going to split the votes for the Democrats and that you are going to leave [Republican Sen.] Roger Marshall with a victory,’” Hamilton said.
“We feel like people are right,” he added. ‘This is the path to take.”
The founding pastor of Church of the Resurrection, one of the largest United Methodist churches in the world, announced in February that he was launching an exploratory committee to consider a Senate run as an independent.
“Our society is growing more polarized; concern for our fellow Americans, kindness and reasoned dialogue are endangered,” he said in a statement at the time.
“The American experiment feels fragile. Families and communities are divided. We are better together and we need leaders who will work to unite us rather than seeking to divide.”
Hamilton described himself as “a fifth generation Kansan” who loves the state and its people, adding that he expected to make an announcement after Easter Sunday.
“I want to know what is on the minds of Kansans: what are their concerns, what keeps Kansans up at night, what gives them hope for the future and whether a unifying and common-sense voice in the Senate can help,” Hamilton said.
“If we decide to move forward, it will be because we’ve heard a clear call from the people of Kansas we hope to serve.”
Before Hamilton announced his candidacy, the Kansas Republican Party filed an ethics complaint with the Federal Election Commission, alleging the pastor unlawfully used church resources for his exploratory committee.
Kansas Republican Party Executive Director Rob Fillion said in a statement that the complaint “raises serious questions about the separation between the Church of the Resurrection’s religious mission and partisan political activity.”
“This is a clear and blatant violation of federal law,” Fillion said. “Adam Hamilton and the Church of the Resurrection used church staff time, facilities, databases and communication platforms to launch his political campaign while claiming ‘firewalls’ that were immediately ignored.”
A spokesperson for Hamilton’s campaign told The Christian Post the complaint was a political move by Marshall, whom Hamilton would face in the election if he wins the Democratic primary.
“It’s sad but not surprising that a politician like Roger Marshall would choose to launch false political attacks on people of faith and a leading church community in Kansas,” the spokesperson said. “Kansans are tired of politicians like Roger Marshall who aren’t listening and just keep making things worse in Washington.”
The spokesperson also said the video referenced in the complaint is strictly informational and does not urge viewers to support Hamilton’s potential campaign.
