Former Kansas Gov. Mike Hayden, a Republican who led the state from 1987 to 1991, has publicly endorsed Adam Hamilton, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Kansas, in his campaign to unseat Sen. Roger Marshall.

Hayden announced the endorsement in an opinion column published by the Kansas City Star on Friday, becoming the second former Republican governor of Kansas to back Hamilton, following Gov. Bill Graves. Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1932, and Republicans currently hold both of the state's Senate seats. The move comes as the GOP grows increasingly worried about surprise midterm losses in its own strongholds.

Hayden, who later served as head of the state's Wildlife and Parks Department under two subsequent administrations, framed his decision as an extension of lifelong principles.

"I ran for office for the first time when I was only 28 years old because I felt the person representing my community in the legislature was failing to fight for the needs of our state," Hayden wrote. "Today, I am endorsing Adam Hamilton for the U.S. Senate for the same reasons. I am a proud lifelong Republican. My conservative values guided me throughout my time as governor and the years since. I fought for property tax reform, stood up for agricultural producers, and put our state on stronger financial footing. Governing should always center around the best interests of the people."

Hayden argued that Marshall, the state's one-term junior senator, "is failing to live up to that standard," and that Kansans "deserve champions in Congress who fight for them every day." Instead, he wrote, "the policies currently coming out of Washington are leaving them behind" — including President Donald Trump's "chaotic tariffs," as well as his Iran war, which "is causing record-high diesel prices, driving up the cost of planting, harvesting, and hauling, and more family farms are at risk of going bankrupt."

"Sen. Marshall time and again has chosen to back the tariffs and the war, despite what is happening back in Kansas," Hayden continued. "Kansans need a senator willing to stand up and say this isn't working, and to press for relief and real solutions. We need a senator who listens. I believe Adam will be that kind of leader for our state."

He added that compromise and bipartisanship are "not weaknesses, but strengths," noting that during his time as speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives and as governor, "it took reaching across the aisle to deliver for Kansans." Hayden argued that Hamilton's "experience as the pastor of the largest United Methodist church in the country — a church that is made up of equal parts Republicans, Democrats, and Independents — makes him uniquely prepared to go to Washington and bring people together around the solutions we need to solve our nation's biggest problems, whether it's the Farm Bill or reducing the national debt." Hamilton founded that congregation, Church of the Resurrection in the Kansas City suburb of Leawood, in 1990.

Hayden noted that he had supported Marshall in the past, but said the senator " spent his time in the Senate putting party and politics over the people of Kansas," leading him to conclude that "it's time for a change." Marshall won the seat in 2020, when four-term Republican Sen. Pat Roberts retired, and Kansas voters will decide the contest in the November 2026 general election.