FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2026
Sen. Cindy Holscher Calls for Statewide Data Center Moratorium to Safeguard Kansans from Rising Energy Costs
Holscher becomes only Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Kansas to take a stand against affordability concerns and economic threats from unregulated data center development
Kansas City, KS — Senator Cindy Holscher, Democratic frontrunner for governor, held a press conference this morning to call for a moratorium on all new AI data center development in Kansas until stronger guardrails are put in place that protect everyday Kansans and prioritize people over Big Tech profits.
“In places across the country where these data centers have recently been built, residents have faced skyrocketing utility costs, water shortages, and negative environmental impacts,” said Senator Cindy Holscher. “We can do this right, with an approach that puts Kansans first and holds Big Tech accountable, and most of all ensures they are paying their fair share.”
As part of this moratorium, Sen. Holscher is advocating for comprehensive policies that target four key areas of consumer protection:
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- Protecting affordability: ensuring developers are responsible for paying their fair share of rising energy costs and that the financial burden is not passed on to Kansas families.
- Workplace and community development: guaranteeing data centers provide real economic benefits to Kansas, train and hire local workers to create jobs, and reinvest back into local communities.
- Prioritizing people and transparency: requiring developers to work directly with communities throughout the planning and construction process, taking public feedback into consideration, and providing proper transparency to the people.
- Kansas-first economy: ensuring tax and financial incentives do not come at the expense of Kansas families and are only given to developers who are committed to protecting consumers, investing in the state’s economy, and supporting local communities.
Sen. Holscher is the only Democratic gubernatorial candidate to publicly call for a data center moratorium, underscoring her unwavering loyalty to everyday Kansans and echoing her campaign’s focus on providing economic opportunities for working families, not siding with corporate interests.
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Cindy Holscher was raised on a farm and brought up with common sense, Midwest values, and a love of her country. Cindy and her husband Greg have lived in Kansas for over 25 years, and their three kids graduated from public schools. She first ran for office to help end the disastrous Brownback experiment and to restore funding to the schools. As a legislator, Cindy co-founded the Women’s Bipartisan Caucus, and she focused on lowering costs for working class and middle class Kansans. Now, she’s running for Governor because Kansas deserves a leader who has a proven track record of fighting for all Kansans.
To learn more about the campaign, visit www.cindyforkansas.com.
