Kansas governor and U.S. Senate candidates to clash at state fair debates

TOPEKA — The first political debates of the election season come to the Kansas State Fair on Saturday, putting candidates vying for governor and the U.S. Senate on stage along with the normal fair gigs of wood carvers, pig races and cookie demonstrations. 

The days leading up to a 10:30 a.m. debate between gubernatorial candidates Sens. Ty Masterson and Cindy Holscher have been rife with social media zingers and denunciations of political strategies and life choices — and arguments about using notes onstage.

Masterson, an Andover Republican, challenged Holscher’s desire to use debate notes, calling them “her emotional support script.” 

In response, Holscher posted a piece of notepaper with her “notes” for the debate, including questions about Masterson’s “million dollar no show job,” “tax cuts for billionaires” and “Brownback 2.0.” 

An email from Masterson asking supporters to cheer him on Saturday tagged his Democratic opponent as “the most radical progressive leftist that has ever run for governor in the state of Kansas.”

In a video, Holscher said she hopes Masterson appears at the debate: “I know showing up for work is pretty hard for him.” She referred to the Kansas City Star report that Masterson received $163,000 a year leading Wichita State University’s Koch-funded makerspace.

Senate race

At 1:30 p.m., Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton and Republican candidate Sen. Roger Marshall will take the stage to tout their stances on national issues, agriculture and other topics important to Kansans. 

Marshall approaches the debate stage under fire for where he spends time and whether he’s been available to Kansans at town hall meetings. He also was the subject of a New York Times article about suing his patients over unpaid debts, with 81 being arrested.

In an August Facebook post, Marshall addressed the number of days he’s spent in Kansas, saying “Kansans deserve to know where their Senator spends his time, and there’s been a lot of bologna from big government woke Democrats about this — so I’ll give you the real truth.”

He reported an average over the last six years of 185 days in Washington, D.C., 130 days in Kansas, 35 days of official travel and 20 holiday/personal days. 

Hamilton, an Overland Park pastor, attacked his opponent’s use of the court to enforce medical bills, writing online, “Medical bills should not ruin lives. We must do better than this.” 

Hamilton appeared on the cable channel MS NOW to criticize Marshall’s actions, which he said show something about Marshall personally. 

“This last year, when he could have made sure that people who are vulnerable had health insurance, he voted not to include the subsidies into what they call the One Big Beautiful Bill, and stripped 31,000  to 36,000 Kansans of their health insurance,” he said. 

Marshall, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, has made few comments about the article, but his attorney who litigated the medical debt told the Times that Marshall was not involved in decisions about warrants, arrests or garnishments. 

Marshall had said little about his opponent, but political action committees and national Republican leaders have criticized what they call Hamilton’s liberal stances as a pastor. 

On X, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz linked to a Hamilton sermon, asking: “Why do Democrats keep nominating ‘preachers’ who reject the central tenets of Christianity? This heretical ‘sermon’ directly contradicts the Bible.”

Debate details

Kansas Radio Networks and 580 WIBW Radio have hosted debates at the Kansas State Fair for more than 30 years, said Greg Akagi, farm director for the organizations. Three reporters will ask the candidates questions, including Kansas Reflector senior reporter Tim Carpenter; Michael Schwanke, anchor at KWCH-TV Wichita; Donna Sullivan, editor of Grass and Grain newspaper; and Dave Bergmeier, editor of the High Plains Journal.

Candidates will open the debate with a short statement and then reporters will take turns asking questions, Akagi said. 

Candidates will have 1 minute, 30 seconds to answer questions and an opportunity for rebuttal.