Kansas Pastor With 20,000-Member Church Enters 2026 Senate Race

Rev. Adam Hamilton, leader of Church of the Resurrection in the Kansas City metro area, announced in April 2026 that he is running as a Democrat for U.S. Senate in Kansas.

Scale of the Congregation

Church of the Resurrection is described as the nation’s largest United Methodist church and has about 20,000 members across multiple campuses in Kansas and Missouri. These figures establish the institutional reach behind the candidate at the time of his announcement.

Party Registration Record

Hamilton has previously been registered as both a Democrat and a Republican, later unaffiliated, and his campaign said he re-registered as a Democrat when he entered the race. The sequence of three affiliations forms one of the measurable elements in coverage of his candidacy.

Primary Field and Internal Views

The Senate race is to challenge Republican incumbent Roger Marshall, and the AP report says Hamilton faces a crowded Democratic primary. Some former employees are divided over Hamilton’s Senate bid, with ex-staff offering differing views of his leadership and politics. These divisions appear in reporting tied directly to the April 2026 announcement.

The combination of membership size, registration history and primary conditions supplies the concrete data points surrounding the bid. Observers in Kansas can track how these elements shape early campaign positioning without additional assumptions about future outcomes.

United Methodist congregations in the state, including those referenced in regional conference reports, operate within the same denominational framework as the candidate’s church. This shared structure places the 20,000-member total in a statewide context for readers following the Senate contest.

Next Steps in the Race

The crowded Democratic primary will determine the nominee who challenges Roger Marshall. Voters and party officials can review the documented membership and registration details as the process moves forward.