A MAGA senator scrambling to save his seat in a deep-red state was spotted pulling a sly move on the campaign trail.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) skipped the bus Kansas Republicans booked for a five-day barnstorming tour on Tuesday and chose to travel separately, Politico reported Saturday. When the bus reached its first stop in rural Newton, reporters saw Marshall quietly climb aboard, then step off with the other GOP candidates to greet supporters as if he had been riding along from the start.
The tour had already been held up while state party chair Danedri Herbert waited to hear from Marshall, who some Republicans complain has not been campaigning hard enough. Polls show him tied with or trailing Democrat Adam Hamilton, a prominent United Methodist pastor, and a loss would make Marshall the first candidate in nearly a century to lose a Kansas Senate race to a Democrat.
Former Kansas Gov. Mike Hayden, a Republican who supported Marshall in past races but now backs Hamilton, told Politico the senator "took it way too much for granted." "He's been almost invisible, except on national television," Hayden said.
The money tells a similar story, Politico noted. Marshall pulled in just $866,000 during the third quarter, while Hamilton raked in $9.9 million, according to federal filings. A person familiar with the matter told Politico that national Republicans have repeatedly pressed Marshall to treat the race more seriously, and the party has now lined up $11 million in spending to rescue him.
A GOP strategist close to the White House called it an "uphill battle," likening Marshall to an aging athlete who started warming up too late. Still, the strategist predicted undecided Trump voters would ultimately return to the fold, brushing off what they called "bedwetting" among Washington Republicans.
Marshall's campaign did not respond to Politico's requests for comment.