JD Vance heckled during Olathe speech full of attacks on Resurrection Church pastor and other ‘far-left lunatics’

Vice President JD Vance appears at a Sept. 14, 2026, rally at Webco Manufacturing in Olathe. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

OLATHE — Vice President JD Vance on Monday vouched for Kansas Republicans running for the U.S. Senate and the governor’s office, bucking Democrats who want to regain control of Congress in November.

Federal and state Republicans signaled they need more Kansans on their side, encouraging the hundreds of attendees of a rally at Webco Manufacturing in Olathe “to find 10 friends” and convince them to vote Republican, or as Kansas’ GOP Party chair Danedri Herbert said it: “We need every single one of you.”

Top Kansas GOP leaders joined the vice president to campaign for U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, who is running for reelection against a Democratic pastor, and state Senate President Ty Masterson, a Republican who is running for governor against fellow state Sen. Cindy Holscher, a Democrat.

Vance, surrounded by heavy machinery and sheet metal, praised Marshall’s friendship and tenure in the U.S. Senate, and cast aspersions on his opponent, the Rev. Adam Hamilton, a United Methodist pastor in the Kansas City area.

Some attendees hoped for a formal announcement of a Vance 2028 presidential run, and others came interested to hear Masterson and Marshall speak. Stan and Janette Gray, a couple from Paola, said they see Vance as a “tell it like it is” leader, and they find value in the fact that “he didn’t have a cushy life” growing up.

Vance spent the rally slamming Democrats and bolstering Republicans. He said Marshall has fought for businesses and working people and been an ally to the Trump administration.

“When the lobbyists and the special interests and the far-left lunatics come and try to fight against the people in this room, Roger Marshall has been on the right side every single time,” Vance said.

Moments later, a protester interrupted his remarks about Marshall.

“He sued his patients,” the man yelled, before being pushed out by security.

Security forces out a protester at a Sept. 14, 2026, rally by Vice President JD Vance at Webco Manufacturing in Olathe. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

The New York Times reported last week that Marshall sued hundreds of patients in central Kansas for unpaid medical debt while he was the only available OB-GYN within a roughly 60-mile radius.

Vance carried on, touting Marshall’s support for eliminating taxes on overtime income and sponsoring legislation that would cap credit card interest fees.

“The reality is that Doc Marshall has stood up for everyday Americans every single day in the United States Senate,” Vance said.

Vance disparaged Hamilton, the leader of the largest United Methodist church in the nation, who won a 10-person Democratic primary in August and will face Marshall and a libertarian candidate, David Graham.

Vance brought up some oft-repeated soundbites from Hamilton’s old sermons that, without context, indicate Hamilton thinks people should repent for eating meat and that white privilege is a sin. He also condemned Hamilton’s church, Resurrection, for sponsoring a local pride festival, along with dozens of other organizations.

“In this race, we have got Dr. Roger Marshall, a proud servant of this state, and a proud Christian to boot, versus a guy who would insult your faith and spit on your religion to accrue donations to himself,” Vance said.

Glynnis Harvey, a spokesperson for the Hamilton campaign, said in a statement the church in 2025 fed more than 45,000 people in need, distributed nearly 60,000 children’s books, held blood drives, led foster care support programs and built affordable housing.

“(Hamilton) welcomes VP Vance to come visit Resurrection, instead of attacking the largest United Methodist Church in the country in an attempt to save Roger Marshall’s flailing campaign and distract from record diesel and gas prices, the war in Iran, and Roger Marshall’s usurious medical debt collection practices,” Harvey said.

Marshall, who addressed the crowd ahead of Vance, said Hamilton has “no clue” about the importance of manufacturing jobs.

“China loves him,” Marshall said, and added that Hamilton is “too woke and too weak to stand up to China.”

The rally came roughly 50 days before the November election when Marshall will compete to retain a U.S. Senate seat that’s been held by Republicans for nearly the past century. was organized by Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc.

Repeatedly, Republicans emphasized the high stakes of the election.

Randy Sipe, a 70-year-old retiree from Waverly, said at stake in November are the continuation of “America first” policies, immigration enforcement and the war in Iran. He said he wants to see Trump remain in Iran until the U.S. accomplishes its goal.

“You’ve got to complete the game if you’re going to win,” Sipe said.

U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, a Republican who represents Kansas’ 1st Congressional District, offered a three-pronged focus for Kansas Republicans in the lead-up to November. Republicans across the country needed to “clearly define” what they’re running against, which he said were Democratic socialists, “tie every Democrat to this insanity,” and get out and vote.

U.S. Rep. Ron Estes, a Republican who represents Kansas’ 4th Congressional District, said he has heard throughout his time campaigning across his district this year from constituents who fear that Democrats will take back control of Congress. He encouraged the crowd to vote Republican so the country doesn’t revert “to the malaise that we were in.”

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com.