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WASHINGTON — Kansas Senate Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton has expressed skepticism that artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a “Tower of Babel” but holds as much as $4 million worth of stocks in the companies building out AI infrastructure and data centers across his state.
The Methodist minister, who is running to unseat Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, told Politico in an interview earlier this month that it would be prudent for the US government to help “slow down” the pace of AI development, “so we can create the right solutions and safeguards.”
Hamilton, in a July statement, also opposed “giving tax breaks to massive corporations building data centers in our communities that can drive up energy costs and drain our water supply.”
But a large portion of the pastor’s personal assets is attributable to investments in big tech firms like Apple, as well as others now powering the future of AI — with a net worth of up to $20 million reported in Hamilton’s financial disclosures filed with the US Senate in June.
While Marshall has also expressed concerns about the AI buildout, he has personally invested far less than Hamilton while still recording tens of thousands of shares in funds that recorded investments in AI and data center infrastructure. The Republican’s net worth sits between $3 million and $9 million, per financial disclosures.
In 2025 alone, the pastor also recorded a $394,239.05 salary from the Methodist megachurch he founded, Church of Resurrection, and another $417,372.70 in royalties from publishing agreements.
Hamilton recorded up to $3.5 million in stocks in the cloud and data center operators in the 2025 filing.
Those holdings from either himself or his wife included between $1.1 million and $3.5 million in major firms like Google, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle.
Between $126,000 and $430,000 was invested in chipmaker NVIDIA and other companies producing semiconductors such as Qualcomm and Broadcom, the filings show.
He also bought between $12,000 and $180,000 in stocks for other data center infrastructure companies.
His most lucrative holdings are his shares in Apple stock totaling more than $7 million.
Separately, Hamilton’s wife reported income of between $5,001 and $15,000 from interest in foreign bonds in the Bank of China, a state-owned entity, and between $15,001 and $50,000 in interest from bonds in the Bank Baroda, which is controlled by the government of India.
It’s unclear what prompted the bond purchases — but they have been sold off since.
The millionaire pastor has urged localities to make the final decision on “the data center debate,” while lambasting billionaires and calling for more regulations on AI.
“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,” Hamilton has said. “If you’re a data center, you should pay your own way.”
It’s one of the few issues on which he and his Republican opponent mostly align.
Marshall told Semafor in July that his constituents were “on fire against” data centers, but has at times downplayed the economic impact of the shift in technology.
“Several dozen counties have placed moratoriums on them. Certainly it is a state issue. It’s a county issue, really a zoning issue. I certainly support their moratoriums,” Marshall said.
“I think they need to figure out the water issue and the electricity issue. I don’t know why we would give them any tax breaks because they really don’t bring a lot of jobs after they’re built.”
Asked about potential job loss due to AI, Marshall has also said he’s “not fearful of it.”
His campaign has taken thousands of dollars over the years from data center developers such as Microsoft and Oracle.
Marshall’s personal financial disclosures also show up to $30,000 in mutual fund holdings that have been invested in semiconductor and similar technology.
Reps for the Hamilton campaign didn’t respond to requests for comment.