Kansas 2026 Election & Infrastructure Intelligence

# Kansas Elections & Policy Intelligence — 2026 Status date: August 3, 2026 ## Election status Kansas holds its partisan primary on August 4, 2026, with certification due by September 1. The general election is November 3, 2026. Because the primary has not yet occurred, this package preserves every verified active primary candidate rather than projecting general-election matchups. ## Praevoium overview Kansas is moving from broad data-center recruitment toward a more conditional framework. State law provides qualifying data centers a sales-tax exemption if they invest at least $250 million, create and maintain at least 20 Kansas jobs, contract for electricity for ten years, and undertake specified water-conservation practices. Utilities may not give qualifying data centers discounted economic-development electric rates. The 2026 Legislature considered additional controls. SB 400 would require closed-loop cooling. SB 531 would prohibit new large-load data centers in counties that experienced a drought emergency in the preceding three years. SB 526 would narrow tax eligibility to projects on land already zoned industrial or manufacturing, or unzoned, as of July 1, 2025. These bills demonstrate that water, zoning, utility costs and local consent are now defining election issues. ## Statewide fault lines - Whether to preserve, narrow or repeal the data-center sales-tax exemption. - Whether large-load projects must use closed-loop cooling. - Whether drought-exposed counties should be closed to new large-load data centers. - Whether operators should fund generation, transmission and local-grid upgrades. - Whether local zoning decisions should be protected from state preemption. - Whether economic-development incentives should prioritize aviation, advanced manufacturing, agriculture, logistics and defense over hyperscale data centers. - How Kansas should expand transmission while protecting agricultural land and rural ratepayers. - How aviation, Wichita manufacturing,

Candidate	Office	Posture	Confidence	Evidence summary
Ethan Corson / Renee Duxler		**Unverified**	Strong	No verified direct data-center position
Cindy Holscher / KC Ohaebosim		**Unverified**	Strong	Opposes taxpayer giveaways to AI data centers; cites water and electric-bill eff
Curt Skoog / Jennifer Bacani McKenney		**Unverified**	Moderate	No verified direct data-center position
Ty Masterson / Jeffrey Klemp		**Enable**	Strong	Supports growth-oriented policy; direct project-specific position not verified
Charlotte O'Hara / Michelle Dombrosky		**Unverified**	Limited	No verified position
Nick Reinecker / Katy Reinecker		**Unverified**	Limited	No verified position
Stacy Rogers / Michael W. Smith		**Unverified**	Moderate	Names data centers as a leading state concern; specific remedy not verified
Philip Sarnecki / Joy Eakins		**Unverified**	Strong	Likely pro-development and deregulation; no direct verified project position
Vicki Schmidt / Joe Newland		**Unverified**	Strong	No verified direct data-center position
Scott Schwab / Ken Rahjes		**Unverified**	Strong	No verified direct data-center position
Damon Anderson		**Unverified**	Moderate	No verified position
Christy Davis		**Unverified**	Moderate	No verified position

Race	Status	Candidates	Impact	Key issue
Governor	See research	See candidate dossiers	Medium	Infrastructure and policy impact
U.S. Senate	See research	See candidate dossiers	Medium	Infrastructure and policy impact
KS-01	See research	See candidate dossiers	Medium	Infrastructure and policy impact
KS-02	See research	See candidate dossiers	Medium	Infrastructure and policy impact
KS-03	See research	See candidate dossiers	Medium	Infrastructure and policy impact
KS-04	See research	See candidate dossiers	Medium	Infrastructure and policy impact

# Kansas race and candidate dossier notes ## Governor The open governorship is the most important state-level infrastructure contest. The winner will inherit a new data-center incentive statute and a live debate over water, drought restrictions, closed-loop cooling, local zoning and utility cost allocation. Cindy Holscher has the clearest restrictive position among leading candidates, opposing taxpayer-supported AI data-center deals and citing water and household electric-bill impacts. Stacy Rogers identifies data centers as a major issue but has not published a complete regulatory framework. Ty Masterson, Scott Schwab, Vicki Schmidt and Philip Sarnecki generally campaign from growth, tax or regulatory-reduction positions, but direct project-level data-center statements require continued verification. ## U.S. Senate Roger Marshall is the Republican incumbent and has Donald Trump's endorsement. The Democratic field has eleven candidates; Adam Hamilton leads the field in fundraising according to the Associated Press. The federal dossier should focus on agricultural technology, transmission, AI governance, federal permitting, defense installations, broadband and water infrastructure. ## KS-01 The district is defined by agriculture, Ogallala Aquifer pressure, wind generation, transmission, rural broadband and freight corridors. Tracey Mann is the Republican incumbent. Democratic candidates Kenneth Colin McRoberts and Lauren Reinhold are competing in the primary; Craig Musser is listed as another-party candidate in federal records. ## KS-02 The district includes eastern Kansas, Fort Riley and the Wolf Creek nuclear station. Derek Schmidt is the Republican incumbent. The race has Republican, Democratic and Libertarian participation. Nuclear reliability, transmission, military infrastructure, agriculture and broadband should lead the dossier. ## KS-03 Sharice Davids faces a Democratic primary challenge from Sarah Preu, Republican candidates Eric Jenkins and Chase LaPorte, and Libertarian Steve Hohe. Preu has the clearest direct AI/data-center opposition, including a campaign toolkit for fighting data centers. Davids emphasizes infrastructure, advanced manufacturing and workforce development. Jenkins emphasizes domestic energy and deregulation; LaPorte emphasizes local decision-making. ## KS-04 Ron Estes faces a Republican primary challenge and four Democrats are competing for their party's nomination. The district's critical Praevoium assets include Wichita aviation, Spirit AeroSystems, McConnell Air Force Base, freight and logistics, and the proposed Flint Hills Digital Campus near Emporia. The project has generated public opposition over electricity, water, zoning and transparency. ## Statewide offices Attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer and insurance commissioner have indirect but meaningful relevance through litigation, corporate registration, public finance, cybersecurity, insurance markets and election administration. Their inf