Kansas Senate Race Heats Up Over Democratic Nominee's Past Sermon on Beef Consumption

A sermon delivered by Democratic Senate nominee Adam Hamilton in which he urged his congregation to repent for their carbon footprint, including actions like eating beef, has become a focal point in the increasingly competitive race against incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas. The remarks, made in a January 2020 sermon titled “What would Jesus say about climate change?”, have drawn sharp criticism from Marshall and agricultural groups in a state where cattle production is a significant industry.

Marshall has accused Hamilton, a megachurch pastor, of promoting "woke" ideals that are out of step with Kansan values. "In a state with more cattle than people, Hamilton saying that Kansans need to repent for eating too much beef and flip-flopping on the Farm Bill proves he’d be just like every other liberal Democrat in the Senate," Marshall stated. He further argued that high fuel prices, exacerbated by the ongoing conflict in Iran, are already causing anxiety for voters, and Hamilton's comments add to this concern.

Kansas, historically a Republican stronghold, has seen its Senate race shift from "Likely R" to "Lean R" in recent political analyses, indicating a tightening contest. The state's economy is heavily reliant on agriculture, with more than 5.8 million cattle in Kansas, nearly double its human population of 2.9 million. Cattle farming and ranching contribute billions of dollars to the state's economy and employ tens of thousands.

Representatives for Hamilton's campaign pushed back against the criticism, asserting that Marshall himself has advocated for reducing emissions from cattle. "Marshall even bragged that the decline of the herd ‘eliminated half of the methane gas produced from cattle already,'" stated Tyson Brody, a spokesperson for Hamilton. "As Adam said at the debate, Roger should repent for failing to stand up for Kansas cattle producers on tariffs, imports, and skyrocketing diesel prices, and now he should repent for attacking Adam for something Roger Marshall said himself in the Senate."

During his sermon, Hamilton explained repentance as a change of heart and behavior, stating, "I realize that this has impact, even if it seems small, it has an impact on the world and future generations. And I feel badly about that, and I’m going to do something different from this time forward." He also noted that certain food production, like cattle, contributes to greenhouse gases.

Matt Teagarden, CEO of the Kansas Livestock Association, expressed disappointment with Hamilton's remarks. "It is disappointing that a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kansas, one of the nation’s top beef-producing states, would make a statement like this to his parishioners about beef’s impact on the climate," Teagarden said. He added that beef is a nutritious part of the American diet and that cattle account for only 2% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, while also playing a role in grassland health and conservation.

In the sermon, Hamilton also suggested that individuals should "do everything you can to reduce your own usage of fossil fuels, but maybe changing your diet so that the things that you eat require less production that creates methane and carbon dioxide and everything else."