Here’s who supports, opposes statewide data center moratorium in KS governor race
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- Four of ten Kansas governor candidates support a statewide moratorium on data centers.
- Kansas enacted 20-year sales tax exemption in 2025 with investment, job requirements.
- Lawmakers did not adopt any new data center regulations during the 2026 session.
When a massive tax incentive designed to lure data center developments to Kansas passed the Legislature in 2025, it did so with broad bipartisan support.
The bill easily cleared Republican Senate President Ty Masterson’s chamber. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly signed it into law, guaranteeing a 20-year sales tax exemption for developers who commit to investing $250 million and creating at least 20 permanent jobs.
Now, as communities across Kansas grapple with whether to embrace or reject polarizing tech projects, the issue is emerging as a key point of division among candidates of both parties vying to become the state’s next chief executive.
Four of 10 governor hopefuls now say they would pursue a statewide moratorium to halt new data center construction — at least temporarily. On Monday, Sen. Cindy Holscher of Overland Park became the first Democrat in the race to call for a moratorium, joining Republican candidates Philip Sarnecki, Charlotte O’Hara and Stacy Rogers.
Standing in a field across from Liberty Church at the site of a proposed $12 billion hyperscale data center in Kansas City, Kansas, Holscher said the state should block local governments from approving data center projects until a slate of new guardrails ensuring transparency and sustainability can be implemented.
“We should take on projects that create jobs and stimulate the economy, and as governor I will work to bring these projects to Kansas. But we cannot afford to do that at the expense of our people, the health of our communities and under threat to our farmers’ water supply,” said Holscher, who voted to approve the tax breaks last spring but said she now believes more must be done to protect residents.
Gallup found last month that 71% of Americans oppose the construction of data centers in their communities, citing concerns over utility costs, environmental impacts and property values.
Sarnecki, a Johnson County entrepreneur, has proposed a five-year moratorium and a plan that would require a countywide referendum vote on any data center proposal after that. Eminent domain would be prohibited, and developers would have to guarantee that their projects will not “place an undue burden” on the water supply or increase energy costs for local residents.
At Friday’s FOX4 Republican debate, Sarnecki said a temporary prohibition on data center projects would protect Kansas from the proliferation of hulking infrastructure that could be rendered obsolete by rapidly developing technology.
“We’re going to have data centers in small rooms in ten years,” Sarnecki said.
Data center debate
Last month, the Leavenworth County Commission imposed a 90-day moratorium on data center development there in response to intense pushback from community members over a proposed 1,000-acre hyperscale data center in Tonganoxie.
In Gardner, developers withdrew an application for a 300-acre facility amid fierce opposition and city officials’ refusal to award additional incentives on top of the state and local sales tax exemption for construction and equipment costs.
At the GOP debate, Masterson framed the issue as a patriotic one. The U.S. is in a “tech cold war” with China, he said, and communities should have the opportunity to embrace new investment that helps America stay competitive.
“There are places they make sense, places they don’t,” Masterson said. “But they should provide for their own power or pay for (their) excess power. The key is to have no cost come off on the locals in the area. They don’t use resources unduly. And you would never allow for eminent domain for a private usage.”
Secretary of State Scott Schwab voiced opposition to a statewide moratorium, pointing to “growing communities in eastern Kansas” that want to pay for the cost of new infrastructure and water treatment facilities “on the back of big tech as opposed to raising property taxes.”
“Any time you try to do a monolith policy out of Topeka, it works about as good as when you do a federal monolith policy coming out of D.C. It just doesn’t work,” Schwab said.
Sen. Ethan Corson of Fairway, a Democratic candidate who also voted for the tax breaks last year, said that as governor, he would ensure data centers approved by local governments pay their full share of energy costs, use modern technology to minimize water usage, and enter into decommissioning agreements. He indicated opposition to a statewide moratorium.
“When data centers are done right, there are real benefits,” Corson said in a statement. “Data centers create good-paying union jobs: construction, electrical, HVAC, and maintenance work, as well as ongoing operations roles that keep Kansans employed long after the initial build is complete.”
Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog, the only Democratic candidate who wasn’t a member of the Legislature when the tax breaks were approved, said he trusts local decisionmakers to accept or reject individual projects.
“The way I think about it is it’s infrastructure. Just like the placement of a road, utility system, it has to be in the right place to be able to to be sustainable and benefit the community,” Skoog said, adding that data centers can “create lots of revenue” to support desired public amenities.
What do other candidates say?
O’Hara, a conservative former Johnson County Commissioner, has promised a “day one” moratorium on the “stampede” of data centers coming to Kansas. Any such action prohibiting new projects would require legislative approval.
She said at Friday’s debate that communities that approve data centers and award developers additional local incentives are selling residents out.
“They’re being showered with tax abatements, and every time that you give an abatement, it’s going to cost somebody else to provide the services for that structure. And that is you and me,” O’Hara said, adding that developers can “go to another state if they want to hand them out all these goodies.”
Rogers, a Wichita entrepreneur and data center skeptic, said she has concerns “about the follow-through of some of these candidates saying this now only because it’s what’s popular.” She’s calling for a statewide moratorium on data centers and all green energy projects.
Republican Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt indicated in a statement that she wants strengthened regulations for data centers but would stop short of pushing for a moratorium.
“As Big Tech makes its way into Kansas, we must protect our land, water and way of life,” Schmidt said. “I will fight for more transparency in the local siting process, giving communities the time to assess the pros and cons, ensure water quality and water quantity laws are being followed and establish guardrails to protect ratepayers from the increased costs of these large loads.”
Nick Reinecker, a Republican who previously ran for Inman City Council, said he’s “not a fan” of the 20-year tax breaks, but he opposes a statewide moratorium because he’s “a free-market guy” who favors local control.
Lawmakers did not adopt any new data center regulations during their 2026 session. Several pieces of legislation attempting to do so died in committee.
This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 1:02 PM.
