Data center group jumps into the Kansas governor’s race to boost Republicans

A new super PAC tied to the artificial intelligence industry is entering the Kansas governor's contest on behalf of Republican state Sen. Ty Masterson, with spending above $1. 5 million, according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke to NBC News. The group, Building the Future, belongs to the network around Leading the Future, which is arguably the most influential industry-aligned super PAC of the midterm cycle. The same day, The New York Times reported that it plans roughly $1. 5 million in ads for Sen. Darline Graham, a Republican in South Carolina's Senate race.

Build American AI, a nonprofit in the same network, set up the PAC in August while launching a multimillion-dollar advertising push in Kansas, Ohio and Wisconsin. The PAC said it would support candidates favoring policies that protect water resources and keep electricity rates from rising. Local resistance to data centers has grown for months and become a major concern for voters nationally.

Kansas is among the few Democratic-held governorships Republicans could capture, and the Cook Political Report rates it as leaning Republican. Masterson has rejected moratoriums and backed a 2025 law giving sales tax relief to data center investment.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NBC News’s reporting. Read the full story at NBC News →