Ty Masterson Voted for Big Tech's AI Tax Break. Now He Wants You to Trust the "Guardrails."
70% of Kansans oppose them.
Where Ty Masterson stands on data centers, who is backing him, and what Kansans stand to lose.
The vote. In 2025, Masterson voted for a law giving qualifying data centers a 20-year sales tax exemption. He opposes a statewide moratorium. At the September debate he praised a Google project in Barber County, citing an estimated 40 percent property tax drop. Kansans should ask what the rest of the deal costs them.
The money. A pro-AI super PAC network spent $800,000 supporting Masterson in the primary. Super PAC money isn't a direct donation, but the industry that stands to gain from his policies is paying to put him in office. [Insert verified itemized donations here, with amounts, dates, and KPDC report links.]
The "protections." Masterson says he passed a law that stops data centers from shifting electricity costs onto Kansas families. Voters should ask which provisions do that, and why a candidate with a signature protection skipped two additional televised debates with Holscher.
What other communities have experienced:
Water. Virginia's own study found likely declines in a critical aquifer and not enough groundwater to sustainably add any big new industrial user. Georgia neighbors of a Meta site say their well water turned muddy.
Air. Gas turbines and diesel backup generators at data centers have drawn health complaints and regulator scrutiny elsewhere. Virginia regulators were shown to have downplayed health concerns about one facility's pollution.
Electric bills. The record is mixed, but analysts project the buildout will push power costs up, and Kansas families shouldn't be the test case.
Noise. Residents near turbine-powered sites describe constant humming that never stops.
The question for Masterson: If data centers are as safe as he says, why take AI-industry money and oppose a pause until the protections are proven?
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