First Democratic Senator from Kansas in 94 years tells Washington to stop being cruel

Adam Hamilton became the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Kansas in 94 years, a milestone that ends a run stretching back to 1932.

Hamilton, a Methodist pastor who registered as a Republican until earlier this year, credited rising costs, tariffs, and the war in Iran for his victory. He told NPR's Michel Martin that many voters were also driven by fatigue with hyperpolarization in Washington.

During his post-election rounds, Hamilton met a Republican who said she had voted in 46 elections without supporting a Democrat until now. She described the federal government as having become cruel and indecent.

In Greensburg, Kansas, a woman asked Hamilton to help Americans stop hating one another. She described how politics had fractured family relationships and urged him to remind voters that they are fellow human beings.

Hamilton plans to reach more religious voters and work across party lines. He aims to build a close relationship with Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, stating his goal is to be Moran's best friend in Washington to demonstrate that the parties can cooperate.

The election result shifts the balance of power in the Senate and places a newly elected Democrat in a state that had not sent one to the upper chamber in nearly a century.