Adam Hamilton

Adam Hamilton is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Kansas. A United Methodist pastor, he founded the Church of the Resurrection in the Kansas City area in 1990, now the largest United Methodist congregation in the country, and has not previously held elected office.[1][3] He won the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary with 34.9% of the vote and campaigns on affordability, health care and ending corruption in Washington.[1]

Hamilton was born on July 12, 1964, and raised in Prairie Village, Kansas, and says he is a fifth-generation Kansan whose ancestors settled in Dickinson County.[1][2][5] His campaign says he grew up in Prairie Village and married his high school sweetheart, LaVon, the week after graduation; they have two daughters and a granddaughter.[2] He graduated from Blue Valley High School in 1982.[5] He received a B.A. in pastoral ministry from Oral Roberts University in 1985 and a master of divinity from the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.[1][5][6]

In 1990, at age 25, Hamilton and LaVon started a church in the Kansas City area with four people in a borrowed space, and he has served as its pastor for 36 years.[1][2] The congregation, the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, is now the largest United Methodist church in the country.[1][6] Hamilton has written more than 30 books about Christian faith and contemporary issues.[5][6] He says the congregation is the largest source of donated food in Kansas City after the regional food bank and the area's largest sponsor of blood drives, and that it funds a mobile dental clinic and invests in low-income elementary schools.[1][2] KCUR reports that he served on President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.[3]

Hamilton launched his Senate campaign in April 2026 after a listening tour of the state, and KCTV5 reported that he raised $3.66 million in his first two months.[2][4] He won the Democratic nomination in the August 4, 2026 primary, defeating ten other candidates including Christy Davis (14.1%) and Noah Taylor (13.4%).[1][4] KCUR reports that he lives in Stillwell, Kansas.[3]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.