Data centers are a bigger issue in Ohio than in any other of the five battleground states recently polled by the New York Times/Siena, with Buckeye State voters more likely to identify the infrastructure as the issue most influencing their vote. While only 3 percent of Ohio respondents said data centers were the most important issue driving their vote, that share was substantially higher than in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas and Texas, where fewer than one percent cited the developments as their top concern. The findings come as several Ohio Republicans have embraced AI development to varying degrees, according to Newsweek's AI Policy Scorecard, highlighting a potential political tension as voter concern over the data centers that power the technology continues to grow.
The AI Policy Scorecard summarizes the direction of a lawmaker’s public record on AI policy, including their stance on data centers, and scores them on a scale of one to five, from “Skeptic” to “Booster.” Scores summarize the direction of each’s public record on policy, including sponsored bills and congressional votes. You can read Newsweek’s AI Policy Scorecard methodology here. Representative David Taylor (OH-02) is considered “Lean Booster” in the Data Centers & Energy category of Newsweek’s AI Policy Scorecard, with a rating of 3.7.
Factors cited in the rating included voting for H.R. 1047, the GRID Power Act, which directs FERC to issue and periodically review a rule revising the approval process for interconnection requests to prioritize dispatchable power projects. Election forecaster Sabato’s Crystal Ball says his race is considered safe for the incumbent party. Representative David Joyce (OH-14) is classified as “Lean Booster” on the AI Policy Scorecard.
Forecasters rate his race as safe for the incumbent party, according to Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Newsweek’sAI Policy Scorecard rates Representative Jim Jordan (OH-04) as “Lean Booster” on Data Centers & Energy. The scorecard cites actions including voting for H.R. 4776, the SPEED Act.
Sabato’s Crystal Ball says forecasters consider Jordan’s race safe for the incumbent party. Representative Max Miller’s (OH-07) public record on data centers is rated as “Mixed,” with one of his two records included in the rating leaning “Skeptic” and the other leaning “Booster.” His race, according to Sabato’s Crystal Ball, is considered a “toss-up.” Representative Michael Rulli (OH-06) is rated “Leans Booster,” with a score of four out of five. Rulli “said it is fine to build thousands of acres of AI data centers around Ohio and the country because they will provide revenue to local government,” one contributing factor on the scorecard says.
Representative Michael Turner (OH-10) is classified “Lean Booser” by the scorecard. Turner’s race is considered to favor Republicans, according to Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Representative Mike Carey (OH-15) score of 3.8 on Data Centers & Energy places him in the “Lean Booster” category.
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