Arch Naramore, who mounted a Republican primary challenge against Sen. Roger Marshall earlier this year, announced Thursday that he is endorsing the senator's Democratic opponent, Adam Hamilton, in the Kansas Senate race.
In a YouTube video, Naramore emphasized that he has "always" been a Republican but said he could not support Marshall's re-election. He pointed to Marshall's support for tariffs that he said harmed Kansas farmers and the senator's vote for billions in tax breaks for data centers as key reasons for his decision.
Marshall easily defeated Naramore in the August primary, but Naramore still captured more than 20 percent of the vote. He noted that result in his video, saying it showed that "a lot of Republicans agreed" that "somebody" needed to challenge the first-term senator.
Hamilton, the senior pastor of the Church of the Resurrection, is seeking to become the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Kansas since former Sen. George McGill in 1932. Recent polling suggests the race is tightening: Decision Desk HQ gave Hamilton a 23 percent chance of victory as of Wednesday, and the Cook Political Report rates the contest as "lean" Republican, though it shifted the race toward Democrats on Wednesday. That shift comes amid a broader trend of competitive Senate races, as seen in recent Cook Report moves in Kansas and South Carolina.
Naramore, who has never held elected office, praised Hamilton as "not a politician" who "will fight for all of us: Republicans, Democrats and independents."
Hamilton shared Naramore's endorsement video on X, writing, "Kansans of every political party agree: Roger Marshall isn't getting the job done."
Naramore is not the only Republican to publicly back Hamilton. Former Kansas Gov. Bill Graves endorsed Hamilton last week, saying it is "time" for voters to "do something different." In a video shared by Hamilton on X, Graves said, "For the last six years, Senator Roger Marshall has turned his back on Kansas."
The Marshall campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
The race has drawn national attention as Democrats look to expand the Senate map. With internal polling showing a closer contest, the outcome could hinge on whether Hamilton can peel away enough Republican and independent voters in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate in nearly a century.
