# Senate races 2026 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 28, 2025, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534 "2025-01-28T15:04:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 29
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/561 "2026-09-26T06:29:50Z")
Collins in this caper is like Nixon in Watergate: Get busted not for the crime but for the coverup. The coverup only compounds the crime. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/562 "2026-09-28T19:55:28Z")
Good news for Dems in North Carolina and Georgia! > **[Republicans fear two key Senate races are slipping from their grasp | CNN...](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/26/politics/senate-republicans-north-carolina-georgia-michael-whatley-mike-collins)** > > Some Republicans are growing worried that two key Senate races once considered critical to holding their majority are slipping from their grasp. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/563 "2026-09-28T20:17:37Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Good news for Dems in North Carolina and Georgia! That’s actually kind of old news. My take from a number of sources is that the R’s are basically conceding those two states and are putting their money in TX, IA, KS, and AK to try to stem the blue tide. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/564 "2026-09-28T22:16:47Z")
A few weeks ago, the NYT ran a story which detailed how the medical practice of Kansas senator Roger Marshall, a former OBGYN, sued low-income patients over unpaid medical bills. [https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article317166501.html](https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article317166501.html) Last week, the campaign of his challenger, Adam Hamilton, ran a TV and YouTube ad featuring a former Marshall patient who said she was arrested for falling behind on her medical payments. She was pregnant when she was handcuffed, and the incident took place in front of her two-year-old daughter. The ad can be seen in this MSNOW segment, starting at about the 2:25 mark. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9ng2gFYGh3U/maxresdefault.jpg "'DEVASTATING' Medical debt ad EXPOSES party divide on affordability, rural healthcare") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ng2gFYGh3U) Now, Marshall’s lawyers have issued a cease-and-desist letter to the Hamilton campaign, demanding that the ad be removed, because it’s defamatory. > **[Roger Marshall alleges defamation in new ad about former Kansas patient...](https://kansasreflector.com/2026/09/28/roger-marshall-alleges-defamation-in-new-ad-about-former-kansas-patient-arrested-while-in-debt/?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=6abadcd8bb000d00018a7725&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawUnwrhleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mAWJyaWQRMWhYYVZSVk5VajJyeWNlVDNzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEerzrWbu3Hiko-7PpUZf4JC2zqHH7K0nFG6EPa66hfg3WCZLg4HkdbRs4x-Wg_aem_T38oPNIO6XYiMfxH6RwV9Q)** > > Lawyers for U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican running for reelection, sent his opponent a cease-and-desist letter demanding the Democrat stop airing an ad featuring one of the senator’s former patients. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/565 "2026-09-29T01:04:44Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Last week, the campaign of his challenger, Adam Hamilton, ran a TV and YouTube ad featuring a former Marshall patient who said she was arrested for falling behind on her medical payments. The US dropped debtors prisons a long time. What crime is not paying a bill? Only if someone ignored a court order . (The other two are child support and unpaid fines). Okay, I looked it up- > **[U.S. Senator Roger Marshall Sued Hundreds, Jailed Dozens of Women Over...](https://protectborrowers.org/sen-marshall-sued-hundreds-jailed-dozens-of-women-over-medical-debt/)** > > Revisiting “The Politics of Debt” one year later. > Mr. Marshall, a Republican who is seeking re-election this fall, filed lawsuits against more than 700 patients with outstanding bills during his decades-long career as an obstetrician-gynecologist, according to a New York Times analysis of Kansas court records. Patients were arrested in 81 of those cases for missing court dates, the records show. In an additional 13 lawsuits, Mr. Marshall’s lawyers sought warrants but it is unclear whether an arrest occurred. So, no- no one was arrested for not paying a bill. They were arrested for **missing court dates.** This does not excuse the predatory debt practices. But > [@Railer13](#): > > Marshall patient who said she was arrested for falling behind on her medical payments. This is technically not true. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/566 "2026-09-29T02:07:48Z")
And why did they have those court dates? They were arrested for not being able to pay their bills. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/567 "2026-09-29T02:56:34Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > So, no- no one was arrested for not paying a bill. They were arrested for **missing court dates.** > > This does not excuse the predatory debt practices. Yep. From what I have read, Marshall is falsely claiming that they all do it. The truth is that he was more aggressive in suing patients than most other doctors. I guess whether that is equivalent to “Roger Marshall preyed on the low-income families of Kansas” is a judgment call. I’m also reading that Marshall was making $780,000 a year – fifteen years ago. Some might say that is irrelevant. But, well, I’d disagree. I do not want the Democrats stooping to Trump’s level. But I think this is fairly far from that. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/568 "2026-09-29T12:32:52Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > I do not want the Democrats stooping to Trump’s level. But I think this is fairly far from that. I just want to repeat that it was the NYT that originally broke the story–hardly a Democratic rag. Are the Dems in Kansas running with it? Of course they are. And obviously getting a lot of traction. Some polls are showing Marshall trailing with a month to go. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/569 "2026-09-29T12:56:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > This is technically not true. “They arrested me because I didn’t make a $50 payment” is the central claim. The failure to make that payment was the precipitating event in a chain of events that led to her arrest. Even if it wasn’t the immediate cause for the warrant, I think the claim is fair: but for the failure to make the payment, she would not have been arrested. Sure, she also wouldn’t have been arrested if she’d shown up for court, or if she’d successfully gone on the lam, or died before the cops showed up, or any number of other things; but the first event in the chain was the lack of payment. Moreover, in _spirit_ it’s accurate. The point of the ad is that Marshall aggressively used the courts and the police to pursue medical debt against people much poorer than himself in a way that not all doctors do, and this case is 100% an example of his doing that. ---
**Author:** ![JDYanYan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jdyanyan/32/21663_2.png) [@JDYanYan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDYanYan)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/570 "2026-09-29T13:11:53Z")
You know it’s going to be a blowout midterm when Republicans are the ones desperately trying to explain why an accusation misses important nuance. Between this and Paxton’s comments on letting a pedophile off after 60 whole days in jail, there’s going to be an electoral bloodbath. The most hilarious thing about these big waves is that once safe seats are exposed, it becomes very obvious how unprepared some candidates are for actual competitive elections. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/571 "2026-09-29T13:40:34Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Now, Marshall’s lawyers have issued a cease-and-desist letter to the Hamilton campaign, demanding that the ad be removed, because it’s defamatory. I think it’s safe to say that when you are willing to risk having more news cycles amplifying the attacks on you in order to get the ads off the air, you have some evidence that they are hurting you. It’s never good when your argument is “well, technically, I didn’t force the police to handcuff a woman in front of her child for unpaid medical debt, I just started the process of getting what I was owed”. There is still a decent chance that Marshall gets re-elected, and Hamilton would be a _very_ conservative Democrat, but the fact that the GOP is even worried about Kansas tells you all you need to know about which way the wind is blowing. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/572 "2026-09-29T13:58:01Z")
Here’s another story on Adam Hamilton from today’s NYT. The link was gifted to me; I hope it works for you. [Link](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/opinion/adam-hamilton-kansas-senate.html?unlocked_article_code=1.E1E.YNvi.4ynUTUjaxYMu&smid=url-share) ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/573 "2026-09-29T17:21:09Z")
I got about two paragraphs in and then a blocking screen popped up that said I needed to register in order to read it “for free”. No, NYTimes (and lots of other sources), it’s not free if I have to pay with info. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/574 "2026-09-29T17:39:53Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I got about two paragraphs in and then a blocking screen popped up that said I needed to register in order to read it “for free”. Sorry. It was sent to me as a gift link. I don’t have an NYT subscription, so that’s the best I can do. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/575 "2026-09-29T17:44:27Z")
Oh, understood. It would probably be the best you could do even if you had a subscription. It’s become increasingly common for “gift” links to require the supposed giftee to pay with information. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/576 "2026-09-29T18:32:21Z")
Try this link - [The Rev. Adam Hamilton Knows What’s Wrong With Kansas](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/opinion/adam-hamilton-kansas-senate.html?unlocked_article_code=1.E1E.0KBX.oOi6PvvbjRP-&smid=url-share) I have a subscription so this should work without any weird pop-ups. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/577 "2026-09-29T18:37:19Z")
Nope. ## Someone unlocked this story for you. ## Log in to read for free. It’s just their policy about “gift” links. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/578 "2026-09-29T18:46:09Z")
Really odd. I just went to another computer where I have never logged into SDMB or NYT. I navigated to the Dope without logging in, came to this thread and clicked on the link I posted and was sent to the full article without logging in or being asked to give any info. I don’t know why that would happen. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/579 "2026-09-29T18:50:51Z")
Me neither. Maybe because I am logged in? I have, however, no such other computer to go to. And I don’t care enough about getting the story from that particular source (I can get a similar one from NPR) to bother even logging out and back in again. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/580 "2026-09-29T18:51:22Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > I have a subscription so this should work without any weird pop-ups. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Nope. Huh. Worked for me - Firefox currently with CanvasBlocker and uBlockOrigin running. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534.md?page=30)