Millions in political ads flooding Kansas as Hamilton and Marshall battle for Senate seat in November

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics in Kansas, Missouri and at the local level. Share your story idea with Charlie.

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With fewer than five weeks until Election Day, political ads are flooding Kansas airwaves. Many center on the Senate race in Adam Hamilton's bid to unseat incumbent Roger Marshall.

Friday, news broke that more money is flowing toward that race. The Associated Press reports a Republican super PAC is pulling money from North Carolina and directing it to Kansas.

The Senate Leadership Fund plans to make a seven-figure advertising buy in Kansas.

The move comes after one ad attacking Marshall has caught headlines. The ad from the Hamilton campaign profiles a woman who says she was arrested because of Marshall's medical debt collection strategy when he was a doctor in western Kansas.

Marshall's camp called the ad a lie, pointing to more context around the woman's situation. Marshall's attorneys sent a cease and desist order to Hamilton in an attempt to get it off the air.

Hamilton called the letter ridiculous and full of flaws.

"Hopefully we're all smart enough to realize you can't believe everything you hear nor everything you see," Andrea said.

Charlie Keegan/KSHB

Voters I spoke to said they don't put a lot of faith in political ads.

"I look at them, I read them, but I know everyone is spinning their story. So, I try to do my own deep dive," Lynette Darby explained.

Charlie Keegan/KSHB

Campaigns, however, put a lot of faith in these ads — along with sacks of cash. Marshall launched a new attack ad Friday attempting to connect Hamilton to a convicted sex offender.

Debra Leiter, a UMKC associate professor of political science, said the attention on these ads shows they can be effective.

"Campaign ads are particularly influential for the folks who are the least interested in politics," Leiter said.

Leiter said ads do not have to be particularly accurate. Courts have given campaigns lots of leeway under the First Amendment to get their messages across.

"Usually, things start pretty positive and track negative as the election gets closer. We're seeing that pattern for more negative ads as elections grow more competitive," Leiter said.

Voters said they are prepared to look past the spin.

"You have to always remember there are three sides to every story — his side, her side, the truth," Andrea said.

Election Day is on Nov. 3.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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