On the October 12, 2026, edition of The Rachel Maddow Show on MS NOW, Rachel Maddow promoted Democrat Adam Hamilton’s chances against Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.
Maddow announced a change in her network’s assessment of the Senate race:
“MS NOW’s own election desk moved our network’s characterization of the Kansas Senate race from likely Republican to lean Republican, which is still lean Republican.”
That is a lot of fanfare for a rating that still ends in “Republican.”
Maddow then attacked Marshall:
“Roger Marshall is a terrible candidate. When he’s not stealing cookies from his constituents, he’s trying to lock them up for not paying the uniquely extravagant interest rates he decided to charge them for their miscarriages and difficult pregnancies.”
Listen to her say, “Oh my God” when they show a horrible photo of the Democrat candidate. The she laughs and says he is a good candidate for Kansas.
Regarding the unpaid bakery bill, Marshall said his team attempted to contact the bakery to apologize, explaining:
“We have absolutely no idea how this happened.”
He posted a receipt showing a $1,300 payment on October 10, two days before Maddow’s broadcast—$621.25 more than the original $678.75 bill, nearly twice the amount owed.
The bakery owner claimed she spent nearly a year trying to collect by calling and emailing, but I find that hard to believe. If a politician owed me almost $700, I would be able to contact them. I certainly wouldn’t let the bill sit for months, only to post about it right before the election to announce he wouldn’t get my vote.
Maddow’s accusation about locking up patients was about medical-debt collection during Marshall’s career as an obstetrician-gynecologist. According to reporting summarizing a New York Times investigation, two patients said the bills pursued in court involved surgery following late miscarriages. These were bills for medical treatment—not penalties for having a miscarriage.
The Times investigation reportedly identified more than 700 patients sued by Marshall or his practice and arrests in 81 cases after missed court appearances.
Medical bills are still financial obligations. Patients can dispute charges or seek help paying them, but ignoring court dates has consequences.
Being arrested for failing to appear in court in a medical-debt case is not the same as being arrested simply for missing a payment.
Marshall’s lawyers have challenged a Hamilton campaign advertisement on that distinction, alleging that it falsely portrayed a pregnant patient’s arrest as punishment for missing a single $50 payment. His lawyers say the arrest concerned a missed court appearance and a larger outstanding debt.
Then to no one’s surprise, Maddow offered her election prediction:
“I mean, yes, there does appear to be some sort of blue wave coming in November.”
This is what passes for “news” on MS NOW: a still-Republican race rating treated like a major breakthrough, a $678.75 cookie bill that Marshall settled for $1,300 framed as “stealing cookies from constituents,” and legal arrests for missed court dates tied to unpaid medical bills twisted into a narrative about trying to lock up patients over miscarriages.
To top it all off, viewers hear another Maddow “blue wave” prediction. If there is something Maddow excels at, it’s peddling Democratic propaganda and presenting only one side of the story—regardless of the facts.
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