BY SYDNEY HOOVER
U.S. Senate Republican candidate Roger Marshall stopped in Eudora for coffee and conversations with voters Monday in his last day of campaigning before the election.
Marshall handed out yard signs at Gene’s Heartland Foods before heading to Zeb’s Coffeehouse to meet with constituents.
“The more out in rural America we get is a stronghold for Republicans, so this is a great place for us to encourage people to get out and vote,” Marshall said.
Marshall and his team stopped in Eudora on their way to Topeka after spending Monday morning in Overland Park. After that, they were headed to Wichita to finish out the day.
Marshall, an OB-GYN from Great Bend, is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Kansas District 1. He’s running for Senate against Democrat Barbara Bollier.
Throughout the day, he said he’d be campaigning for local candidates as well, including state Senate District 3 candidate Willie Dove. Marshall brought along Dove’s yard signs to hand out to voters at Gene’s.
At Zeb’s Monday morning, Marshall gave fist bumps and talked faith and politics with voters. The Rev. Jeremiah Holcomb of the Refuge Christian Church spoke with Marshall at Zeb’s, and said he hopes for peace and unity after the election, regardless of which candidates win.
“We need to live and serve well … without losing sight of who’s on the throne,” Holcomb told Marshall. “January 1, that doesn’t change.”
Holcomb and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Karen Boyer were meeting for coffee when Marshall arrived. Boyer cast her vote in advanced voting, but Holcomb plans to vote in person on Election Day.
They agreed it was a “tremendous surprise” to see Marshall walk in the coffee shop, where they were meeting to discuss the mayor’s Christmas tree lighting event.
“It’s good that they take a minute to come here,” Boyer said. “It’s a little tiny town, but it matters.”
Charles Williams didn’t get a chance to speak with Marshall at Gene’s Heartland Foods before he headed to his next stop, but said he wished he could have. He plans to vote in-person and said he’s scared about what the outcome will be after Tuesday.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the election,” Williams said. “Things are going weird.”
Marshall said if he wins the Senate race, he will represent all Kansans, regardless of who they voted for this election season.
“I don’t care whether you’re Republican or Democrat, I’m going to be fighting to keep your family safe and healthy and fighting to protect Kansas values and your God given constitutional rights,” he told the Eudora Times. “We’re all Kansans first, and I can’t wait to become your United States senator.”
Kansas Democratic Party spokesperson Reeves Oyster said Kansans need an independent voice like Bollier's representing them in the U.S. Senate.
"From voting against affordable health care and preexisting condition protections in the middle of a pandemic, to refusing to follow public health guidelines and spreading conspiracy theories about COVID-19, Roger Marshall has already proved he will not fight for our best interests in Washington," Oyster said.
Polling locations are open Tuesday at the Eudora Rec Center, City Hall and the Eudora Township fire station. All polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Reach reporter Sydney Hoover at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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