U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, has taken it on the chin repeatedly over the past week.
He wants another term in the Senate, but first he has to make it through an increasingly fraught election season.
First, his campaign apparently shared an AI-generated graphic of Kansas showing its 105 counties in — curious positions. Also, there weren’t 105 of them. His challenger, Overland Park Democrat Adam Hamilton, quickly made hay of the situation.
“Spend enough time in Florida and you might forget what Kansas looks like,” the Hamilton campaign posted Friday.
Then President Donald Trump threatened Canadian aerospace company Bombardier on Monday.
“NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES! Their products aren’t good enough!” he proclaimed via Truth Social, ignoring the fact that more than 1,ooo Americans work at Bombardier facilities in — whoops — Wichita.
Marshall posted on social media that he had the problem well in hand: “I’m going to fight to keep Bombardier’s over 1,200 Kansas jobs. I’ve already taken that concern inside the Oval Office.”
Notably, the incumbent senator didn’t mention the person who put those jobs at risk. That would be Trump.
Finally, the New York Times posted a story Tuesday analyzing “Doc” Marshall’s medical career. Turns out, he “filed lawsuits against more than 700 patients with outstanding bills during his decades-long career as an obstetrician-gynecologist, according to a New York Times analysis of Kansas court records.”
According to the Times, 81 patients were arrested for missing their court dates. Marshall charged up to 18% interest rates for medical debt repayment.
Whew!
Each story hit a different nerve. The AI-generated state map suggested a sloppy campaign apparatus, one peppered with junior staffers who don’t comprehend the pride Kansans take in their state.
Trump’s Bombardier threats underscored the extent to which Marshall has chained his political fortunes to those of the president. Let’s not forget that Marshall’s first vote in the U.S. Senate was to reject Joe Biden’s presidential win.
The medical billing story struck at the very core of Marshall’s biography. He has been at pains to present himself as a mild-mannered obstetrician-gynecologist, a small-town doctor representing the rural folk of Kansas. Turns out, he wanted paid. The Times story includes wrenching references to women who lost pregnancies and needed additional surgery.
Rural health care costs money. But Kansas also hasn’t expanded Medicaid services, and Marshall has steadfastly opposed the Affordable Care Act. Did he just prefer his patients poor and indebted to him?
Marshall can’t help but look worse for wear. I’m sure those in the Hamilton campaign have celebrated accordingly. (Keep that champagne in the icebox for now, kids. There’s a lot of time left).
