Kansas Senate: where the candidates stand

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Cost of living and taxes

Voted for the 2025 Working Families Tax Cuts making the 2017 tax cuts permanent, including the small business deduction, full expensing, R&D expensing and the expanded child tax credit. Has voted no on multiple stopgap continuing resolutions he says add spending without offsets.

Aerospace, defense and Kansas jobs

Points to the FY2026 NDAA (S. 1071) funding a Fort Riley air traffic control tower and training course, a Boeing $1 billion Wichita investment he championed, and a WSU Tech workforce training partnership. Frames the work around keeping Kansas building aircraft and the roughly 12,000 Spirit AeroSystems jobs in Wichita.

Domestic energy production and tax credits

Opposes what he calls a war on domestic energy projects and supports restoring energy production tax credits, saying Kansans should decide what happens on their land. Notes more than two dozen Republican members of Congress asked to protect those credits before repeal.

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Immigration

Called immigration under former President Biden a 'disaster' but said the situation since then is also a disaster, and wants a year-round H-2A visa program. Said Kansans expect immigration laws to be enforced but also expect people to be treated with dignity and respect.

Immigration and border security

Cosponsored the Laken Riley Act (S. 5, signed January 2025) and the Build the Wall Act (S. 42), and has made multiple border site visits with Kansas law enforcement. At the State Fair debate he asked fairgoers who they trust on immigration and said the Trump administration's crackdowns have happened for a reason, saying noncitizen immigrant workers 'took our jobs from us.'

Medicare benefits

Would expand Medicare to cover vision and dental, saying seniors currently pay hundreds to thousands of dollars out of pocket and that untreated dental disease and vision loss carry health risks.

Prescription drug prices

Would expand Medicare drug price negotiation, speed up the timeline for adding drugs, extend negotiated prices to private insurance plans, and cap out-of-pocket drug costs. Cites an estimated $1.5 billion in Part D out-of-pocket savings in 2026 and a CBO estimate of roughly $456 billion over a decade from the broader approach.

Medicaid and ACA subsidies

Supports reversing federal Medicaid cuts and restoring the enhanced ACA premium tax credits, saying the cuts would drain up to $3.77 billion from KanCare and cost about 13,000 Kansans coverage while the subsidy lapse raised a typical subsidized Kansan's 2026 premium by more than half.

Medicare waste and prior authorization

Supports site-neutral Medicare payment, going after overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans he says document members as sicker than they are, and reforming prior authorization so paperwork cannot delay or deny care doctors say patients need. Frames these as savings that do not touch anyone's benefits.

Rural healthcare

Notes 82 of Kansas's 124 hospitals are Critical Access and says he works to protect them; leads the Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act (S. 1816), the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act (S. 2355), the Medicare Advantage Improvement Act and cosponsors the CONNECT for Health Act (S. 1261) for telehealth permanence. Cites a 72-hour cap on Medicare prior-authorization denials.

ACA subsidies and Medicaid

Said he would prefer to end the enhanced COVID-era ACA subsidies as they stand, and that if they continue they should revert to the original ACA framework limited to people under 400 percent of the poverty level. Says only about 5 percent of Medicaid funding goes to rural hospitals and that the goal should be moving people off Medicaid into jobs with health insurance.

Tariffs

Would require congressional approval before new tariffs take effect and mandate publication of their projected cost to American families, arguing sweeping tariff taxes land on Kansas farmers, manufacturers and families as higher prices. Cites the bipartisan Trade Review Act backed by Sen. Jerry Moran, Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Maria Cantwell as the model.

Farm tariffs and export markets

Supports immediately removing tariffs he says are hurting farmers, doubling funding for USDA export promotion programs, and pushing for new market access agreements, citing hundreds of Kansas farms closed last year largely because of tariff costs and lost exports.

Trade agreements and USMCA

Calls USMCA 'a great thing' rather than merely a good one, citing a 45 percent increase in U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico and Canada, and says he prefers dealing with Mexico and Canada over the Chinese Communist Party. Supports finishing the USMCA review with a 'do no harm' approach while seeking more ethanol and dairy access to Mexico.

Energy prices and affordability

Calls for a comprehensive 'all of the above' energy strategy that increases energy independence while bringing consumer costs down, citing sharp recent increases in electricity and gas prices. Says Congress has failed to act and that the White House has made costs worse.

Energy

Supports an 'all of the above' energy mix of oil, gas, wind and Kansas-grown ethanol. Cosponsors the Natural Gas Tax Repeal Act (S. 143) and the CRA resolution (S.J.Res.12 / H.J.Res.35, signed March 2025) that voided the EPA methane-fee rule, which his campaign says would have raised costs on natural gas operations.

Congressional stock trading and ethics

Supports prohibiting members of Congress and their households from buying or selling individual stocks while in office, requiring assets be placed in a qualified blind trust or divested, and extending the ban to cryptocurrency and digital assets. Also supports banning members and staff from gambling on prediction markets.

Term limits, age limits and residency

Supports a constitutional amendment establishing 18-year term limits for Congress and the Supreme Court, age limits for members of Congress and the Supreme Court, and stronger residency requirements for members of Congress.

Congressional stock trading

Joined Sen. Pete Ricketts in introducing the Stop Insider Trading Act, which would prohibit members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from purchasing publicly traded stocks and require public notice seven to 14 days before any sale. Says members of Congress shouldn't trade individual stocks while making decisions that move markets.

Iran war and war powers

Criticized Marshall for voting against the September 24 resolution to limit President Trump's authority to continue military operations against Iran, saying Kansans and farmers are paying higher pump, fuel and fertilizer costs as a result of the war.

Iran and war powers

Describes his position as supporting a strategy to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons while avoiding a prolonged conflict, saying in June the approach should mean 'no forever wars, no nukes' and that keeping shipping lanes open would help lower energy and grocery costs. Voted against the September 24 War Powers resolution to limit military operations against Iran, and has defended that vote as necessary to address threats from the Iranian regime.

Data centers and electricity costs

Supports requiring data centers to cover their share of electricity costs rather than burdening ratepayers, and says he would pursue binding rules and legislation rather than voluntary pledges. Acknowledges the economic benefits data centers can bring to rural areas.

Transmission projects and competitive bidding

Supports requiring competitive bidding for transmission projects instead of awarding contracts to a single utility, citing a $493 million project handed to Evergy and arguing competitive bidding cuts costs by 20 to 30 percent.

Social Security and seniors

Says Social Security must be protected and that seniors need real solutions, including prioritizing home-based care reimbursement so seniors can age at home rather than in a facility. Points to the roughly 20 percent of Kansans who are 65 or older and the difficulty of accessing care in rural areas.

Elder fraud and scams

Would strengthen the Department of Justice's Elder Justice Initiative and give investigators more resources to pursue elder fraud cases, citing FBI-reported losses of nearly $5 billion in 2024 and the rise of AI voice-cloning scams. Notes this builds on bipartisan work including legislation Sen. Marshall has sponsored.

Housing affordability

Supports banning Wall Street and other investors from buying up single-family homes, closing loopholes that let large firms split into smaller entities, and ending tariffs he says raise construction costs. Also supports modernizing modular home regulations and creating tax credits for first-time homebuyers and for firefighters, police officers and teachers.

Rent and landlord pricing practices

Supports stopping anticompetitive price collusion by landlords, including algorithmic pricing that he says reduces competition and drives up rent.

Rural hospitals

Supports protecting and investing in rural hospitals, citing Kansas having more hospitals at immediate risk of closing than any other state and a roughly 10 percent rise in deaths from time-sensitive emergencies when a rural hospital closes. Says reversing Medicaid cuts would help but that underpayment by insurers, including Medicare Advantage, also needs fixing.

Medical debt and billing

Would cap interest on medical debt, limit wage garnishment and keep medical debt off credit reports, noting 43 percent of Kansans report a financial burden from medical bills and that Kansas is among 45 states allowing garnishment over unpaid medical bills.

Abortion and contraception

Supports protecting a woman's right to choose, codifying access to contraception into law, and requiring insurers to cover non-prescription over-the-counter birth control the same way they cover prescription contraception.

Animal disease outbreaks and food prices

Supports fully funding the animal disease vaccine bank, laboratory network and preparedness programs, accelerating the domestic sterile-fly production facility, and passing the bipartisan Rural Veterinary Workforce Act in response to avian influenza and New World Screwworm. Links the outbreaks to higher egg and beef prices.

Farm bill

Calls for finally passing a full five-year farm bill after three years of delay, noting the 2018 farm bill expired in 2023 and the House passed its version in April while the Senate has not acted.

Agricultural labor and H-2A visas

Supports reforming the H-2A guest-worker program to permit year-round visas, lower compliance costs and give existing workers a path to legal status, saying labor shortages on farms, dairies and cow-calf operations raise food costs.

Fertilizer costs and domestic production

Supports expanding USDA's Fertilizer Production Expansion Program with accelerated permitting, citing fertilizer cost increases caused by the wars with Iran and in Ukraine that land on grocery shelves.

Year-round E15 and gas prices

Supports year-round E15, saying homegrown ethanol blends save drivers 20 to 40 cents per gallon and build markets for Kansas corn and sorghum; notes the House passed year-round E15 legislation in May and urges the Senate to act.

Grocery store pricing

Supports banning algorithmic price-fixing and dynamic pricing at grocery stores and penalizing retailers that use shoppers' personal information to set prices.

Campaign finance and dark money

Supports ending dark money in elections, citing more than $1 billion in dark money expenditures in the 2024 election that he says drown out ordinary voters.

Government shutdowns and member pay

Supports withholding pay for members of Congress during government shutdowns until a budget passes, an approach he describes as 'no budget, no pay.'

Lobbying, inspectors general and pardon power

Supports permanently prohibiting members of Congress from becoming federal lobbyists, extending the cooling-off period for senior staff, restoring protections for inspectors general, and limiting presidential pardon power.

Junk fees and consumer finance

Supports banning hidden junk fees across industries such as lodging, ticketing, telecommunications and travel, and restoring the CFPB's 2024 overdraft fee rule; notes Sen. Marshall celebrated his vote to repeal that rule.

Private equity consolidation

Supports investigating private equity consolidation and 'roll-up' acquisitions in essential sectors including health care, housing and groceries, citing a 2024 joint FTC-DOJ inquiry into serial acquisitions.

Economic development incentives

Supports requiring clawback provisions on economic-development incentives so taxpayer dollars come with guarantees that companies deliver promised jobs and investment.

Labor unions and right to organize

Supports strengthening the right to organize, starting with the bipartisan Faster Labor Contracts Act, which would require employers to begin bargaining within 10 days after workers vote to unionize with mediation and arbitration backstops.

Workplace safety and labor enforcement

Supports fully funding the National Labor Relations Board, OSHA and NIOSH, and cracking down on wage theft through harsher penalties and stronger Department of Labor enforcement.

AI in employment decisions

Supports requiring real human review of hiring, firing and promotion decisions, citing the No Robot Bosses Act, to protect workers from AI-only employment decisions.

ICE operations in Kansas

Says ICE operations in Kansas are causing chaos for families, communities and businesses and should stop, criticizing federal agents for arriving in southwest Kansas without notifying or coordinating with local officials and law enforcement. Calls for both parties to deliver lasting immigration reform and says the current system is not working for anyone.

Beef imports and the cattle industry

Called the Trump administration's decision to import beef from Mexico 'a slap in the face' to Kansas cattle producers that came at exactly the wrong time, and said Marshall should have spoken up for the beef industry.

Independence from party leadership

Says the country is going in the wrong direction and frames courage as standing up to one's own president and party when policy is hurting people back home, even at the risk of political retaliation. Said the debate exchange over political loyalty illustrates 'exactly what's wrong in Washington, D.C., right now.'

Fertilizer costs

Leads the Lowering Input Costs for American Farmers Act (S. 4418), which his campaign says cuts phosphate fertilizer costs by more than 20 percent, roughly $150 per ton, for Kansas growers. Says he is pushing a package of bills to bring down fertilizer prices, increase cost transparency and help new small businesses enter the fertilizer market.

Year-round E15 and ethanol

Calls E15 his top priority, saying 'E15, E15, and E15,' and cosponsors the Nationwide Consumer & Fuel Retailer Choice Act (S. 593) for year-round E15. Argues year-round E15 would roughly double ethanol exports and that higher ethanol blends cut pump prices by 50 to 70 cents per gallon.

Agriculture

Sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee and cites the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act signed into law in January 2026 and the DIRECT Act (S. 3099) allowing state-inspected beef to be sold interstate. Frames his work around lowering input costs for Kansas farmers.

Ogallala Aquifer and water

Original cosponsor of the EQIP Water Conservation Act (S. 2696) and points to a USDA Groundwater Recharge and Sustainability Project in Wichita and Greeley counties, citing an aquifer decline rate of about 1.2 feet per year. Is a member of the Senate Western Caucus.

Veterans

Cosponsored the Veterans in STEM Careers Act as a congressman (Public Law 116-115, signed February 2020), voted for the PACT Act in August 2022, and cosponsors the Major Richard Star Act (S. 1032). His campaign cites roughly 155,000 veterans living in Kansas.

Rural hospital funding

Attributes rural hospital struggles to the ACA, the local economy and population loss rather than recent federal policy, and criticizes Democrats for wanting to remove the $50 billion rural transformation fund. Cites support for the rural transformation fund as his preferred route to help rural hospitals.

Beef prices and the cattle industry

Attributes beef industry troubles to drought, the smallest cattle herd of his lifetime and government overregulation, saying the Democratic party has 'strangled the ag industry.' At the debate he said he would stay focused on Kansas jobs, protecting Kansas agriculture and the Kansas cattle industry.

Relationship with President Trump

Said he disagreed with President Trump's promise to offer $5,000 to every U.S. adult if Republicans won the midterms, saying 'this is not the first time I've disagreed with President Trump.' Generally reiterated his support for Trump policies on immigration and tariffs during the debate.

Budget and government shutdown

Said Republicans want to keep the government open while working toward a responsible budget, and objected to Democrats seeking an additional $1.5 trillion on top of previously agreed funding. Said he believed a shutdown would probably happen and blamed Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.