Democratic pastor-candidate urges Kansas voters to repent over beef and driving

In the Kansas Senate race, Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton, who previously led the nation’s largest United Methodist congregation, cited a 2020 sermon urging his flock to repent for wasteful habits such as driving and eating beef, framing it as a climate-change issue. Republican incumbent Roger Marshall condemned the comments, saying they betray Kansas’s deep ties to cattle farming and the Farm Bill. Hamilton’s team responded that Marshall has repeatedly introduced legislation aimed at cutting cattle emissions and highlighted rising diesel costs for farmers.

The Kansas Livestock Association’s CEO Matt Teagarden argued that beef remains a vital, nutritious food and that cattle contribute only a small fraction of U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions. The exchange has intensified scrutiny of both candidates as the race tightens in a traditionally red state.