Political expert weighs in on how the data center debate could impact upcoming primary election

KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. She's been reporting on data centers extensively in the Kansas City metro. Share your story idea with Isabella.

—

With just three weeks until the voters head to the polls for the primary election in Kansas and Missouri, many political candidates have started to speak out on the data center debate.

Several candidates in Kansas have already announced a pledge for a data center moratorium and rate payer protections if elected.

Political candidates typically side with the majority views of their party for most issues, like abortion and gun control. But data centers haven't fallen within a party line, with both Democrats and Republicans in favor and opposed to their development.

Voters across the metro view it as an important issue when casting their ballot.

Carrie Schmidt, a voter in Edgerton, Kansas, is one of the many voters concerned about the impact of data centers. She explained it's one of the main issues she's paying attention to.

"We can have data centers but we need to do it responsibly," Schmidt said. "It's going to be huge. I think people are going to win based on if they are for data centers or against data centers."

Voters like Dan Nagengast from Lawrence are paying attention to the stance candidates are taking.

"It's a good issue," Nagengast said. "You're starting to get towards the heart of public sentiment when you say things like that."

But 2026 is the first year that data centers are becoming a hot political topic at the polls.

"We weren't even talking about data centers a couple years ago, now we are," Matt Harris said. "I think as time goes on, that's just going to become an increasingly important political issue."

Harris is an associate professor of political science at Park University. He explained the stance on data centers could have a greater influence on local elections.

"That could potentially be a make-or-break issue, because you never know how close an election is going to be and what it's going to come down to," Harris said.

According to a recent poll by Gallup, 70% of Americans are opposed to data centers for AI. Harris explained that stat could be motivating more candidates to pick a side.

"It can kind of be a risky thing politically, if you're a politician taking a stance in favor of them because people tend not to like them," Harris said.

Whether candidates are for or against data centers in this election, Harris explained the debate won't go away by the next one.

"I think it will become more of an issue and work its way up the level of government as time goes on," Harris said.

KSHB 41 News has heard from viewers on how important data centers are when it comes to elected officials. We reached out to every primary candidate registered in the Kansas City metro area for Kansas and Missouri.

We asked them what their stance was on data center development. You can find the Missouri candidate's responses here and the Kansas candidate's responses here.

—