VOTER'S GUIDE: Missouri political candidates' stances on data center development

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.

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Voters in Missouri will head to the polls in less than three weeks for the primary election on August 4.

A number of seats are up for grabs for the 2026 election, including representatives for the newly redrawn District 4, 5 and 6 in the Kansas City metro.

Over the last few months, data centers have become an increasingly popular topic within metro communities on both sides of the state line. Many elected officials and political candidates for a number of offices have started to speak out publicly on data center development and incentives from governments.

Many KSHB 41 News viewers have expressed the importance of data centers when it comes to elected officials. We asked each candidate for the Kansas City metro registered for the Missouri primary election their stance on data center development.

Each candidate received the same list of questions at the same time with a week to respond. Candidates were asked if they support the continued expansion of data centers in region, the biggest impacts of rapid data center growth and if they support tax breaks for data centers. Answers have been edited in part for brevity.

You can see more of KSHB 41 News' stories on data centers here.

Missouri U.S. Representative District 4

• Mark Alford (Republican) - “As a representative dedicated to the truth and facts, I’m still listening and leaning about this issue... This is a serious issue that deserves serious research and serious attention to facts over emotion. Until we determine those facts, we think it wise to pause the expansion on data centers as we listen and learn together for the betterment of Missouri."
  
• Heather Shelton (Republican) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Scott Vincent Vera (Republican) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Jordan Herrera (Democrat) - "As it relates to AI data centers, I do not support unchecked or rapid expansion. We must slow down long enough to get this right. Communities deserve a voice, local governments deserve the final say, and every project should undergo rigorous review for its impact on our electrical grid, water infrastructure, environment, and quality of life... I do not support state or local tax breaks for data centers. Data centers consume extraordinary amounts of electricity, water, and computing resources. They should contribute accordingly, not receive blanket tax abatements or incentives."
  
• Jeanette Cass (Democrat) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Wayne Russell (Democrat) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Hartzell Gray (Democrat) - "No, I do not support the continued expansion of data centers. We can’t allow expansion of data centers until we guarantee public safety... I’m firm in my position that I see no current benefits to rapid data center growth, only extensive harms. I do not support state or local tax breaks for data centers, and find the idea troubling."
  
• G Rick (Democrat) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Ashleigh Rogers (Democrat) - "We can support innovation and also ensure we are being responsible in protecting our resources. We are not there today and I support a moratorium until that information is scientifically verified and presented to the public for review... AI data centers do not create enough long-lasting jobs in the community to warrant any tax breaks."
  
• Randy Miller (Democrat) - "No, I do not support any further expansion of data centers. I will push for an immediate moratorium on building any new data centers...Ultimately, this will be a statewide matter, but I would put severe oversight and restrictions on any future building of these data centers, and would require them to be inspected on a 6-month basis by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, to make sure they are abiding by these restrictions."
  
• Thomas Holbrook (Libertarian) - "I support the idea of technological innovation so long as property rights are respected, eminent domain is not abused, and they are built in a carefully thoughtful manner in order to avoid disrupting the lives of those around them... Meta and other Fortune 500 companies are more than capable of paying for the construction, operation, and upkeep of data centers on their own. They do not need tax breaks, and I do not support the idea of corporate welfare."

Missouri U.S. Representative District 5

• Brad Patty (Republican) - "[Data centers] are matter of national security but Missouri is not the best state to build them... BENEFIT: Similar to nuclear weapons, AI is the next battle field frontier and we must dominate it to continue American leadership on the world stage. RISK: Citizen privacy. Data of human beings is more powerful than any conventional weapon to include nuclear weapons... I support the people and their representatives civically resolving any increase or decrease of taxes."
  
• Brett Hueffmeier (Republican) - "Yes [I support continued expansion of data centers in this state/region], to the extent that Missouri should be proportionally represented, and the concerns of our residents can be addressed and mitigated through responsible, controlled implementations... Yes [I support state or local tax breaks for data centers], in limited circumstances. Acquiring the data centers is clearly a net benefit to economic vitality in the local Missouri communities. I welcome a process that creates a greater voice before these decisions are made on the part of concerned citizens."
  
• Taylor Burks (Republican) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Rick Brattin (Republican) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Berton Knox (Republican) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Micah Beebe (Republican) - "I'm taking a very cautious approach to data center expansion in Missouri, especially after what we've seen in Independence. I'm not anti-technology, but right now these projects are driving serious concerns about higher power bills, strain on local water supplies and lack of transparency from local governments... We need to slow down, ask more questions and make sure big tech companies pay for their own electricity and water."
  
• Emanuel Cleaver II (Democrat) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Randall Langkraehr (Libertarian) - No response by time of publication.

Missouri U.S. Representative District 6

• Jim Ingram (Republican) - "Yes I support expansion of data centers in our state and region. Data centers are of strategic importance for our country and the future of AI. Benefits; increased property tax base for local communities, more full-time jobs, more income and sales tax revenue from those full-time jobs. Risks; access and pricing to utilities (water, natural gas and electricity) are all controlled at the state and local level... Each State and local community must do their own cost benefit analysis of a given project and make their own decision as to what is best for their community."
  
• Chris Stigall (Republican) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Nathan Willett (Republican) - "I believe decisions regarding data centers should be left to local communities and their elected leaders. I have called for greater transparency and sponsored an ordinance requiring large data center projects to obtain special use permits. No. I do not support the current process [of tax incentives], in which tax breaks are determined by Port KC. Because only the mayor appoints members to that board, it allows decisions about incentives to bypass locally elected officials."
  
• Cody Oshel (Republican) - "I think there a pros and cons but ultimately for supporting further expansion I would need more transparency from the developers. I think they can be a huge driver for economic growth and they are going to go somewhere so I would hate for Missouri to miss out on the economic impact but we need to know the good, bad, and ugly... No I don’t believe in any tax breaks or incentives. They want to come in they can pay their way because they can afford it and we shouldn’t be passing burden to tax payers. 
  
• Nathanael Schultz (Republican) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Josh Smead (Democrat) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Scot Pendelick (Democrat) - "No [I do not support the continued expansion of data centers in the region]. We do not understand all the health risks, true environmental impacts, or the potential to overload our electrical grid and ground water. These data centers only provide short term job benefits, but the risks to community health and the subsidies taxpayers must provide to these data centers, at no point, make up for the short term construction jobs... There should not be any subsidies for data centers.  They should pay for everything they use and the infrastructure requirements needed for it."
  
• Matt Levine (Democrat) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Andy Maidment (Democrat) - "Yes [I support the continued expansion of data centers in the region]. Data centers are needed for the increased capacity of information technology companies in our economy. Expansion is needed as this becomes an ever larger part of our lives... I do not support government incentives for any business except the lowering of taxes across the board. The government should not be in the position to pick winners and losers in the economy."

Jackson County Executive

• Alan Rohlfing (Republican) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Stacy Lake (Democrat) - "I do not believe in the continued expansion of AI data centers in Jackson County. We should be focused on bringing in industries that will create positive economic growth and long term permanent jobs... I do not support using tax payer dollars, subsidies, tax dollars, or any other form of public funds to support data center development in Jackson County. We must invest more into modernizing our electrical grid and water infrastructure to provide these essential services to our residents, not AI Data Centers."
  
• Ryan Meyer (Democrat) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Holmes Osborne (Democrat) - "[In reference to supporting continued expansion of data centers in the region] It's a local planning and zoning question. It depends on local and county ordinances... No [I do not support state or local tax breaks for data centers], this would have precluded the center in Independence. Many groups are for building these for jobs. I am not in this group."
  
• Bill Baird (Democrat) - No response by time of publication.
  
• Dan Tarwater III (Democrat) - "Data center projects have expanded too quickly without the necessary input and participation of taxpayers and ratepayers. I fully support a moratorium on data centers until communities, and the state adopt appropriate legal safeguards... Data centers are billion-dollar enterprises ,we as a state should not allow the data center industry to manipulate our communities in an endless , excessive bidding war between taxpayers and consumers without fair compensation of our energy and water resources."
  
• Manny Abarca (Democrat) - "No [I do not support the continued expansion of data centers in the region], I haven’t yet to seen one positive impact for neighborhoods, taxpayers, the environment, or local economies and trades. Currently as a legislator I have fought and will continue to fight against future developments and public subsidy, and if elected as the next Executive will ensure that future developments of any type put the people, the planet, and our local economies first... These companies should be contributing to the community not pillaging it."

Missouri Auditor

• Scott Fitzpatrick (Republican) - No response by the time of publication.
  
• Gerald Wistrand Jr. (Republican) - "I am in favor of a pause / moratorium on the continued expansion of data centers in the state until all aspects of the data centers’ impacts can be adequately determined and accepted. No [I do not support state or local tax breaks for data centers], the data centers should fully support themselves."
  
• Quentin Wilson (Democrat) - No response by the time of publication.
  
• Gregory Upchurch (Democrat) - No response by the time of publication.
  
• Dustin Coffell (Libertarian) - No response by the time of publication.

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