The Kansas Senate debate between Roger Marshall and Adam Hamilton showed why Republicans are so worried about losing a Senate seat in what has been a reliably red state.
Sen. Marshall came off as aloof and attached to Trump, and he didn't seem concerned about the economy at all. If a person was taking a drink every time Marshall said either peace through strength or America first, they would have been rushed to the hospital with alcohol poisoning.
Marshall appeared to be completely unaware that most Kansas voters have soured on Trump.
The debate within the debate was Marshall name-dropping Chuck Schumer like he was Nancy Pelosi in a 2010 Republican campaign ad. Marshall called Hamilton weak and constantly tried to paint the moderate Democrat as a liberal.
Marshall’s devotion to Trump cost him the debate when the topic turned to diesel prices and the cause of high diesel prices.
Hamilton blamed the Iran war for the high cost of diesel and supporting temporarily lifting the state’s fuel tax, “ We're trying to find some immediate relief, but it's not a long-term solution. It's a very short-term stopgap, and my hope is that in January we're gonna bring a bill to really force the president to bring this war to a conclusion very quickly. Kansans need that. Americans need that. They're crying out for it, and again, Roger Marshall has failed to support ending the war.”
Marshall followed Trump’s lead and falsely blamed Ukraine for diesel prices, “Let's think about what the real problem here is. The real problem with the cost of diesel in particular is, number one, is the Ukraine war, and because of that, diesel production has gone down. But beyond that, why are we dependent upon diesel imports? It's because of the Green New Deal policy that my opponent supports. His policies would fit in just right with Chuck Schumer. So if I would lose this seat, Adam Hamilton would give control of the Senate to Chuck Schumer, who would go back to his Green New Deal.”
This was the turning point, because Hamilton pounced.