WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — It may not be surprising that very few U.S. Senate races in Kansas have been as close as the one between Sen. Roger Marshall and the Rev. Adam Hamilton, if the polling is accurate.
The race has been grabbing national attention for several reasons, including that Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate in 94 years. Recent polls also show that Hamilton and Marshall are neck and neck — something that has not been common in Kansas’ U.S. Senate elections.
In fact, the margin of victory has not dipped below 10% in over 50 years, and has grown to more than 40% in some elections.
Get to know Adam Hamilton, the Democrat and pastor running for US Senate
1914 U.S. Senate race
The current voting system for the U.S. Senate was added to the Constitution in 1913. Since then, the closest margin of victory in a Kansas U.S. Senate race was in 1914.
Republican Charles Curtis beat Democratic candidate George Neely by 0.76%.
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1930 U.S. Senate special election
After 1914, Republicans did not give up either of Kansas’ seats in the U.S. Senate until a special election was held in 1930. The special election was called because Curtis was elected to be vice president on a ticket with Herbert Hoover.
Democrat George McGill and Republican Henry Allen competed for Curtis’ seat, and McGill took the win with just a 2.09% margin of victory.
1932 U.S. Senate race in Kansas
Curtis became vice president when he was halfway through his term in the Senate. So, McGill only held the seat for two years before running for election for a full term against former Kansas Gov. Benjamin Paulen.
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McGill won the race by a 3.64% margin. This was the last time a Democratic candidate was elected to the U.S. Senate in Kansas. McGill served until 1939.
1936 U.S. Senate race in Kansas
Democrats were close to winning Kansas’ other Senate seat in 1936. Former Wichita Mayor Omar Ketchum ran as the Democratic nominee against former Kansas Gov. Arthur Capper.
Capper first won the Senate seat in 1918 and was running for his fourth term. He won reelection against Ketchum by just 2.59% and went on to serve a total of five consecutive terms in the Senate.
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1974 U.S. Senate race in Kansas
The state would not see another narrow race until 1974. In this election, incumbent Republican Sen. Bob Dole was running against Democrat William Roy.
Although Dole had won the seat in 1968 with a 21.42% margin, his association with President Richard Nixon made him vulnerable.
Dole was able to beat Roy by a 1.7% margin of victory. This was the closest Democrats have come to winning one of the state’s Senate seats since the party’s victory in 1932.
Hamilton could be the first Democrat to win a US Senate seat in Kansas in 94 years
Roy ran for the U.S. Senate again in 1978 but lost. He later became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas’ 2nd District.
KSN will be streaming the final scheduled debate between Hamilton and Marshall on Wednesday. It starts at 7 p.m. You can watch it on KSN, KSN+ and ksn.com. There will also be a pre-debate show at 6:30 p.m. and a post-debate show at 8 p.m. that will stream on KSN+ and ksn.com.
