作者：史蒂文·T·丹尼斯。民主党宣布将在堪萨斯州投入500万美元用于广告宣传。堪萨斯州向来是保守派的大本营，但在11月3日中期选举前夕，它出人意料地迅速沦为参议院竞选的激烈角逐地。
By Steven T. Dennis Democrats announced a $5 million ad buy in Kansas, typically a solidly conservative state that has unexpectedly and rapidly become a Senate battleground ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
此前，共和党全国委员会上周决定向现任共和党参议员罗杰·马歇尔与民主党人亚当·汉密尔顿之间的竞选投入逾1000万美元。
The commitment follows national Republicans’ decision last week to pour more than $10 million into the race between incumbent GOP Senator Roger Marshall and pastor Adam Hamilton, a Democrat.
自1932年以来，堪萨斯州就再未选出过民主党籍的联邦参议员。
Kansas hasn’t elected a Democrat to a US Senate set since 1932.
据AdImpact的数据显示，随着民主党“参议院多数派政治行动委员会”于周五宣布新的广告投放计划，此次竞选活动的广告支出总额已接近5000万美元。
Total advertising spending in the race is approaching $50 million with the buys Friday from Democrats’ Senate Majority political action committee, according to AdImpact data.
虽然这一数额与俄亥俄州、德克萨斯州等州相比显得微不足道——那些州的两党在竞争激烈的参议院选举中已分别投入数亿美元——但对于一个原本不在共和党预期竞争范围内的小州而言，这仍是一笔数额可观的投资。
The funding pales in comparison to states like Ohio and Texas, where the parties have spent hundreds of millions on fiercely contested Senate races. But it’s nonetheless a significant investment in a smaller state that Republicans hadn’t expected to be competitive.
作为以农业为主的州，堪萨斯州如今被无党派的库克政治报告机构评为“胜负难料”。由于伊朗战争及贸易摩擦的影响，该州柴油价格创下历史新高，令当地农民与普通消费者承受巨大压力。
The agriculture-heavy state, now rated a tossup by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, has been buffeted by record diesel prices sparked largely by the Iran war and trade wars that have hit the states’ farmers and consumers.
“参议院多数派政治行动委员会”投放的首支广告指责马歇尔投票反对一项要求司法部长公开性犯罪者杰弗里·爱泼斯坦相关政府档案的法案。后来国会确实通过了强制公开这些档案的法律。
Senate Majority PAC’s first ad targets Marshall for voting against legislation directing the attorney general to release the government’s files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Congress later passed a law requiring the Epstein files to be released.
此外，民主党还拿马歇尔曾长期担任妇产科医生这一经历做文章。据《纽约时报》报道，马歇尔曾对700名患者提起诉讼，其中81人最终因未出庭受审而被逮捕。
Democrats also are targeting Marshall, who practiced for many years as an obstetrician-gynecologist, for a New York Times report that he filed lawsuits against 700 of his patients, 81 of whom were later arrested for failing to appear in court.
“堪萨斯州的选情正日益胶着。我们决心让当地民众认清马歇尔的真实面目——他实际上一直在推高堪萨斯州普通家庭的医疗与生活成本，”“参议院多数派政治行动委员会”发言人劳伦·弗伦奇说道。
“The gap is closing in Kansas, and we are committed to ensuring families understand Marshall’s real record of making health care and basic goods more expensive for working Kansans,” said Senate Majority PAC spokesperson Lauren French.
共和党参议院领导基金一直在投放广告，将美国最大的卫理公会教堂的牧师汉密尔顿描绘成一个脱离州情、伪装成温和派的政客。
The Republican Senate Leadership Fund has been running ads portraying Hamilton, a pastor of the largest United Methodist church in the United States, as a fake moderate out of touch with the state.
马歇尔还拿几十年前的一起事件攻击汉密尔顿：当时有一名教会夏令营辅导员被指控性侵儿童，汉密尔顿的竞选团队则回应称，正是他协助将该罪犯定罪。
Marshall has also attacked Hamilton for a decades-old case of a church camp counselor accused of molesting kids. Hamilton’s campaign countered that he helped get the man convicted.
另一方面，汉密尔顿获得了多位共和党人的支持与背书，包括两位前共和党州长，他们都称汉密尔顿是能够秉持中间路线施政的候选人。此外，汉密尔顿的筹款能力也相当出色；据AdImpact数据显示，他的竞选活动广告支出已逾1000万美元，这一数额大约是马歇尔竞选活动广告开支的两倍。
Hamilton, meanwhile, has been buoyed by a series of crossover endorsements from Republicans, including two former Republican governors vouching for him as someone who will govern from the middle. He’s also been a strong fundraiser, with AdImpact showing his campaign with more than $10 million in ad spending, about double Marshall’s.