Vance to Rally in Topeka for Sen. Marshall as Kansas Senate Race Tightens

Vice President JD Vance is set to return to Kansas on Monday for a Topeka rally supporting Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall. The stop comes roughly a week after President Donald Trump campaigned for Marshall near Wichita.

It will be Vance's second appearance in the state in a short span. The vice president came to Johnson County last month to support Marshall and other Republican candidates. The Topeka event begins in the afternoon and is open to the public.

Visits by national Republican figures have historically been uncommon in Kansas. Before this campaign, Trump had not been to the state since 2018. The change followed the entry of Adam Hamilton, a Democratic pastor, into the Senate race. Polls show Hamilton and Marshall locked in a tight contest, and a Hamilton victory would make him the first Democratic senator from Kansas in nearly a century.

Marshall acknowledged the stakes in an interview with Pete Mundo of KCMO Talk Radio. "We're pulling out all the stops," he said. "We're assuming that this is as close as these polls say they are."

Trump spoke for nearly two hours at his Monday event near Wichita. He urged Kansans to "pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot." The president's and vice president's appearances have each attracted thousands of supporters, many in "Make America Great Again" hats, along with a handful of protesters.

Hamilton's campaign sought to turn the visits to its advantage. Spokesperson Glynnis Harvey said in a statement that sending the vice president twice in six weeks "tells you everything you need to know about how Roger Marshall's campaign is going." She added that after the previous night's debate, Republicans know Hamilton's message of "leading from the middle" is resonating with voters, and that "Kansans are ready for change."

Polling points to a close race. In the two days following Vance's first visit, Emerson College surveyed likely Kansas voters and found Hamilton ahead of Marshall by two percentage points, which falls within the margin of error. Marshall has mostly trailed in other surveys, though generally still within the margin of error, and a sizable share of respondents say they have not decided.

Politico has reported that numerous national Republicans privately urged Marshall to treat the race more seriously. In recent weeks he has gained added support, including a major push from the Senate Leadership Fund, the GOP-aligned group, and a veteran Republican operative who joined his campaign. A Republican strategist told Politico the party is betting that the remaining undecided voters lean toward Trump.