KS-SEN: U.S. Senate candidate in Kansas faults Democratic rival's handling of reported sex abuse

TOPEKA — A Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday denigrated the race’s frontrunner, accusing him of covering up a child sex abuse scandal at the church he leads and demanding he withdraw his candidacy.

Patrick Schmidt, a state senator from Topeka, faulted pastor Adam Hamilton for his handling of reported child sex abuse at a church retreat two decades ago.

Court records show the church investigated the abuse and eventually reported it to law enforcement. Hamilton’s campaign said Schmidt was using the pain of families to engage in “false and defamatory attacks.”

Schmidt lobbed numerous accusations at Hamilton during a press conference at the Statehouse and offered reporters a digital repository of court documents from criminal cases against a former church retreat volunteer, Scott Preston Moore. Many of Schmidt’s accusations couldn’t be verified in court documents.


https://kansasreflector.com/2026/05/27/u-s-senate-candidate-in-kansas-faults-democratic-rivals-handling-of-reported-sex-abuse/