10
Loading video...
By Andrew Stanton
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Republican Senator Roger Marshall was sued by a former patient this week, as President Donald Trump revives his plans to hold a rally in the Sunflower State, which appears more competitive than initially expected in this year's midterm elections.
Kansas emerged as a late battleground as Marshall, first elected to the Senate in 2020, faces a close challenge from his Democratic opponent, pastor Adam Hamilton. The race, once thought of having a Republican edge, has shifted to the Cook Political Report’s toss-up column in recent weeks as public polling has given neither candidate a clear advantage.
Top-rated pollsters have given Hamilton a slight edge, and Trump reversed course on plans to cancel a campaign event in the state. Republicans initially said he would no longer be attending the rally in Salina, Kansas, this weekend, instead opting for a virtual rally, but on Friday, the White House confirmed he would be campaigning in the state on Sunday.
Read More on Politics
As the campaign enters its final days, Marshall, who spent 25 years working as an obstetrician-gynecologist before his foray into politics, was hit with a new lawsuit by a former patient, Meischa Zimmerman.
Newsweek reached out to Marshall’s campaign for comment via email.
Roger Marshall Faces Lawsuit: What to Know
The new class action lawsuit accused Marshall and his former medical practice Heartland Regional OBGYN of charging illegally high interest rates on services.
“Marshall and Heartland also engaged in a long-standing practice of billing their patients for interest on unpaid bills at a rate in excess of 15% per annum, and often at the rate of 18% per annum,” the lawsuit reads.
It also alleged Marshall and his practice of engaging “in a long-standing pattern and practice of aggressively seeking to collect, and collecting, medical bills that were unpaid by Marshall's patients, including by filing numerous lawsuits against Marshall's patients.”
It described the 18 percent interest rate as “unmitigated greed and blatantly unlawful,” pointing to Kansas law prohibiting the charging of more than 15 percent interest. Kansas law does provide several exceptions to when higher interest rates could be charged.
Marshall’s campaign has not responded to the lawsuit.
It is not clear whether other patients have joined the lawsuit.
Zimmerman has appeared in an advertisement supporting Hamilton’s campaign alleging that she was arrested over debt she owed related to the delivery of her daughter. Marshall's campaign sent the Hamilton campaign a cease-and-desist letter, describing the ad as defamatory.
...
Polls Tighten in Kansas Race, With a Warning for Democrats
Several recent polls pointed to a closer race than expected between Marshall and Hamilton.
A new Emerson College poll gave Hamilton a slight edge over Marshall, 48.7 percent to 45.2 percent. When leaners were distributed, Hamilton led by 49.5 percent to 47.1 percent. It surveyed 800 likely voters from October 26-28 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Hamilton also led by 4 points in a CNN/SSRS poll, 49 percent to 45 percent, among 838 likely voters from October 20 to 26. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
A poll from The Washington Post and George Mason University gave Hamilton a more substantial lead but cautioned that it believes Marshall’s support may be underestimated in the survey.
It gave Hamilton a 9-point lead, 52 percent to 43 percent, among 801 likely voters from October 22 to 26, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. The Post reported that Democrats were more enthusiastic about responding to the poll than Republicans, reporting an abnormally large partisan difference.
It reported that there is “good reason to suspect that the poll overestimates Democratic candidates’ support” but published the poll “in the interest of transparency.”
Prediction markets flipped to favor Hamilton on Friday, giving him an advantage for the first time in the election season. At around 3:45 p.m. ET, Hamilton had a 52 percent chance of winning on Kalshi and a 54 percent chance on Polymarket.
Prediction markets allow traders to buy and sell contracts tied to political outcomes and current events, aggregating real‑money wagers into probability estimates.
Prices fluctuate as traders react to polling, fundraising, candidate developments and broader political trends. They measure trader sentiment at a given moment but do not always accurately predict the future.
Related Story
Donald Trump Iowa, Kansas Rallies Back On After Cancellations
Trump Cancels, Then Reverses, Kansas Rally
The president will be rallying in Salina, Kansas, on Sunday, one of the final campaign stops ahead of Election Day. He will also be in neighboring Iowa, which has competitive races for governor and Senate, as well as three of the state’s four congressional districts.
Marshall told reporters he believed Trump might have canceled because he was doing “so well in the polls.” Trump told reporters, “I’m not going to Kansas because he’s doing very well.”
But those plans again changed on Friday, with the White House previously providing to Newsweek a statement on background from a source familiar with the plans, who said the rallies are “back on.”
“President Trump loves his supporters, and in addition to nearly 20 tele-rallies, he will hold back-to-back rallies in Kansas and Iowa on Sunday,” the source said.
Trump campaigned in Park City, Kansas, earlier in October.
Is Kansas Turning Purple?
Kansas has become subject to more attention from Democrats in recent cycles, as Republicans’ margins have slipped in the state over the past few decades.
In 2024, Trump carried Kansas by about 16 points. He won it by about 15 points in 2020 and 20 points in 2016. Mitt Romney won Kansas by nearly 22 points in 2012, while John McCain won it by about 15 points in 2008. Former President George W. Bush won Kansas by 25 points in 2004 and 21 points in 2000.
Kansas City suburbs have fueled Democrats’ hope that the state could become less rigidly conservative. Areas around Johnson County have rapidly become more Democratic, but the state overall still favors Republicans.
Democratic Representative Sharice Davids flipped Kansas’ 3rd District, based around those suburbs, in 2018 and has easily held it ever since, even in more conservative years. That region of the state, as well as decently competitive areas around Lawrence, Topeka and Wichita, have given Democrats hope it could one day be a swing state.
The state is led by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly, who won in 2018 and 2022.
Democrats also made a play for Kansas’ Senate race in 2020, but Marshall defeated Democrat Barbara Bollier by more than 11 points.
This year, Kansas is also facing impacts of rising diesel fuel, as the state has a large agricultural economic sector.
Diesel is important to farmers for several reasons. Heavy agricultural machinery, including tractors, harvesters, and irrigation pumps, use diesel engines. Rising diesel prices translate to higher operating costs for farmers. It also powers trucks, trains and ships that move agricultural products across the supply chain, increasing transportation costs across the industry.
Hamilton has also held stronger fundraising than Marshall. In the third quarter of 2026, the Democratic candidate raised about $10 million, while Marshall raised less than $1 million.
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Samantha Beech and Anthony Murray.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines