Data centers have emerged as a sticking point between Senator Jon Husted, a Republican, and former Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, in the Ohio Senate race, after Senate Democrats blocked Husted’s bill to regulate data center developers. Ohio, a former swing state that shifted rightward over the past decade, is a critical battleground in this year’s midterm elections. Polling points to an increasingly close race between Husted and Brown, and Democrats are optimistic about their chances of making a comeback in the Buckeye State this year.
Husted, who was appointed to the seat by Governor Mike DeWine to fill the vacancy left by Vice President JD Vance, fought to pass the Ratepayer Protection Act in the Senate this week, but the bill failed to pass the 60-vote filibuster despite earlier passing the House of Representatives with substantial bipartisan support. The bill brought new attention to data centers in the Ohio Senate race. Data centers are critical to artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, but voters have revolted against their development across the country.
Polling data suggests data centers are broadly unpopular with both Democrats and Republicans. Only 20 percent of Americans believe that the construction of data centers is good for the country, according to a poll from YouGov and The Economist of 1,592 adults from August 28-31. Proponents of data centers view them as an important economic lifeline.
They believe embracing their development is important for the economic growth of their state and community. They view data centers as having the potential to bring good jobs, including union jobs, to their communities, and believe opposing data centers could result in their communities being left behind. See Newsweek's AI Policy Scorecard to see how every sitting member of Congress stands on AI policy.
However, critics have raised numerous concerns about the centers—including their impact on the environment, the amount of water they use, their potential to drive up electricity bills and the noise pollution they generate in communities. In Ohio, data centers remain an important issue for many voters, and both candidates have responded with their own message in hopes that their proposals will resonate with the state’s electorate ahead of the November 3 election. The Ohio Senate race is one of a handful of toss-ups that could determine the balance of power in the Senate.
Republicans hold a 53-47 majority that is seen as increasingly at risk in November. Democrats must flip four seats to win a majority, as Vice President JD Vance would serve as the tiebreaker in a 50-50 Senate. Democrats need to flip two seats in states President Donald Trump won by double digits in the 2024 election to secure a majority, and Ohio is viewed as one of those states that could potentially flip back to Democrats this year.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
