EMPORIA, KAN. - The following is considered editorial in nature.
New Kansas Speaks Survey: Voters Worried About the Economy and Data Centers
Submitted by Michael A. Smith - Emporia State University, Oct. 28, 2026
Insight Kansas is a weekly syndicated newspaper and blog column featuring academic analysis and commentary on Kansas politics and public affairs.
The column is written by a group of political science professors and analysts from universities across Kansas, including: Dr. Bob Beatty (Professor of Political Science at Washburn University)
Russell Arben Fox (Political scientist/writer)
Alex Middlewood, Mark R. Joslyn and Michael Smith.
Latest Colum as follows:
The results of the 2026 Kansas Speaks survey have just been released, but before we dive in, a word about what the survey is– and is not. Kansas Speaks is conducted annually by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University. I join another Insight Kansas columnist, Alex Middlewood as a policy fellow, consulting on this project.
Kansas Speaks is not the typical “horse race” poll that receives far too much media attention during election campaigns. In close races (almost always the most interesting ones), these can only show races tied within the margin of error for weeks leading up to, and on Election Day. Unfortunately, this does not stop the media from breathlessly reporting small changes in such polls, which are only an artifact of the poll’s sampling procedure.
Proper surveys like Kansas Speaks are not intended to predict the winners of elections. Instead, we survey a carefully-selected, representative sample of Kansans reflecting actual proportions of the state’s population– rural vs urban, Democrats, Unaffiliateds and Republicans, women and men, different racial and ethnic groups, and so on, and we ask about a variety of issues such as the direction of the state’s economy, how much they think about Medicaid expansion, and the balance between gun safety and gun rights. This year, we added new questions about data centers and the petition initiative.
How about the results? Kansans’ faith in the economy is down from previous years. Only about 20% rated the state’s economy as “good” or “excellent.” Nearly half think it is getting worse, with the rest split between “undecided” and “getting better.” Results are even lower for the national economy– only 13.2% of our respondents think it is getting better. Nearly 58% are very or moderately concerned that the national economy will threaten their own or their family’s welfare. They are particularly concerned about the rising cost of living.
Kansans surveyed expressed little faith in our government or its institutions. Kansas’ most popular politician is outgoing Governor Laura Kelly, but only about 47% were satisfied with her performance. The numbers plummet from there. Only 33% are satisfied with President Trump’s performance, 32% with the Kansas Supreme Court, and 27% with the Kansas Legislature. U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall get 28% and 26% satisfaction, respectively. We added new questions about the political parties this year, and ratings were similarly abysmal, with 33% satisfied with the Kansas Democratic Party, 29% with the state’s Republican Party, and slightly lower percentages for the respective national parties.
We also asked about data centers this time. A majority were either somewhat or deeply concerned about data centers’ energy and water use, the possibility of new nuclear reactors to power them, and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) that is powered by data centers. More than 40% were concerned about data centers being targeted by terrorists or foreign governments. More respondents thought the impact of data centers on their local economy would be negative than positive. Solar fields did better– most respondents had little or no concern or no opinion about using these to power the data centers.
Unlike overhyped horse race polls, true surveys can provide a wealth of data about public opinion in Kansas and elsewhere. Look for more about Kansas Speaks in future Insight Kansas columns.