Kansas Senate Candidate’s AI Investment Dilemma
WASHNGTON — Adam Hamilton, a Democratic candidate for the Kansas Senate, voiced doubts about artificial intelligence becoming a “Tower of Babel,” but he has investments worth up to $4 million in companies developing AI infrastructure and data centers in his state.
The Methodist minister, aiming to unseat Republican Senator Roger Marshall, mentioned in a recent interview with Politico that perhaps it would be wise for the government to “slow down” AI development to establish appropriate safeguards and solutions.
In July, Hamilton also criticized the idea of providing “tax breaks to massive corporations” that are setting up data centers in local communities, pointing out that such centers could raise energy costs and deplete water supplies.
Interestingly, a significant portion of Hamilton’s wealth is linked to investments in major tech companies like Apple, among others that are driving AI advancements. His financial disclosures from June indicate a net worth of up to $20 million.
While Marshall has shared concerns regarding AI expansion, his investments in this area are notably smaller than Hamilton’s. His net worth, based on disclosures, is estimated to be between $3 million and $9 million.
In 2025 alone, Hamilton earned a salary of $394,239 from the Church of Resurrection, a large Methodist church he started, along with $417,372 in royalties from book publishing.
His financial filings suggest he holds between $1.1 million and $3.5 million in stocks with major firms like Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle. Investments in chipmaker NVIDIA and companies producing semiconductors like Qualcomm and Broadcom range between $126,000 and $430,000.
Hamilton also invested between $12,000 and $180,000 in other data center infrastructure companies. His most substantial asset appears to be his Apple stocks, valued at over $7 million.
On another note, his wife reported earning between $5,001 and $15,000 in interest from foreign bonds in the Bank of China, as well as between $15,001 and $50,000 from bonds in the government-controlled Bank Baroda.
The circumstances surrounding those bond purchases remain unclear, though they have since been sold.
The millionaire pastor advocates for allowing localities to determine the fate of proposed data centers, criticizing billionaires and calling for stricter regulations on AI development. He stated, “If a town decides a project is worth it to land the jobs or increase their tax base, that’s their decision. But if they don’t want one, that should be their decision, too.”
This issue seems to align him with Marshall, who also noted in July that his constituents are quite opposed to data centers, though he has sometimes minimized the broader economic ramifications of the technological shift.
Marshall supported county-level moratoriums on the issue, expressing that localities need to address water and electricity concerns and questioning the rationale behind granting tax breaks to data centers that may not generate significant job opportunities post-construction.
He has, however, appeared unconcerned about potential job losses linked to AI, stating he’s “not fearful of it.”
Marshall’s campaign has accepted thousands of dollars from data center developers like Microsoft and Oracle, while his financial disclosures show mutual fund investments of up to $30,000 in semiconductor-related technologies.
Requests for comment from Hamilton’s campaign went unanswered.
