Data Centers Test Republicans Vote

WASHINGTON (DTN) -- In Ohio, the most expensive Senate race of the year has put technology, land and utility costs on the ballot.

Former Sen. Sherrod Brown is trying to reclaim a seat from Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, as concerns over the state's growing data-center industry have emerged as a political issue in farm country.

The race has become a referendum on the rapid growth of data centers in rural areas. Farmers, landowners and agribusinesses are weighing the potential benefits of new tax revenue and investment against concerns about farmland conversion, infrastructure expansion, water use and whether rural ratepayers could shoulder some of the costs of serving large technology facilities.

Ohio has 154 operational data centers, with 27 under construction, 57 planned and three paused, according to the Office of the Ohio Consumer Counsel and dcmap.us. And 138 local moratoriums have been enacted, the Ohio Capital Journal reported in September.

"They (the data centers) have become particularly a vulnerability for Republicans," said Erin Covey, editor of U.S. House of Representatives for the Cook Political Report, a firm that does nonpartisan analysis of elections. "Voters are going to blame the incumbent party for their handling of data centers -- both frustration with the centers themselves and how they are using up resources and water, in particular."

Brown has raised $39 million in the race, the most of any Ohio Senate candidate. He faces Husted, who was appointed to the Senate after Vice President JD Vance left the seat two years ago. Husted has raised $14.1 million, according to Federal Election Commission data on OpenSecrets.

With less than one month until the midterm elections, the Ohio race is part of a broader surge in campaign spending in states like Ohio, Texas and Maine. Republicans are spending to hold their seats, while Democrats are trying to win control of Congress.

While spending is about half of what was spent on the 2024 Ohio Senate race, $197 million in advertising has been spent in the contest, much of it by outside organizations. Of that total, $53 million mentioned or focused on data centers, Covey said.

The Cook Political Report has rated the Ohio race a tossup since April 13.

REPUBLICANS MOVE ON DATA CENTERS

Republicans responded to growing concerns over data centers earlier this summer.

Husted introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would direct state public utility commissions to develop ways for data-center developers that consume large amounts of electricity to cover the costs they impose on utility systems, including costs ultimately borne by consumers.

The legislation passed the House in September. But when it reached the Senate for a Sept. 17 cloture vote, it failed 57-43, short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

"The Ratepayer Protection Act is such a no-brainer that almost the most conservative and the most liberal representatives all agreed it was good policy," Husted said.

The White House committed to signing it into law if passed, but Senate Democrats who voted against it called the bill "toothless." They argued that it would only direct utilities to "consider" guidelines rather than impose mandatory, enforceable requirements on companies to pay for grid upgrades.

"And to say ... 'Well, we hope they'll do better' ... does not do anything," Brown said on the campaign trail.

His position on data centers is to require companies that own them to pay the full cost of their utilities. But the same position is compromising his vote from labor unions, who rely on business from data center building contracts.

As a former ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, Brown opposes cryptocurrency and non-traditional banking. His skepticism toward the digital asset sector has also made him a target of crypto-industry political spending. Brown lost his 2024 Senate race to Sen. Bernie Moreno after crypto-backed groups spent roughly $41 million against him. In September, Fairshake, a Silicon Valley PAC, announced plans to spend another $30 million opposing Brown's Senate comeback bid, the New York Times reported.

Husted, who served as Ohio's lieutenant governor for six years before joining the Senate, has built a political record around economic growth and career-tech education.

Together with his state's moderate Republican governor, Mike DeWine, who retires in January, they worked to attract major technology and energy companies, including Intel, Google, Amazon/AWS, Meta and Anduril, while also providing tax incentives.

This has blurred Husted's position on data centers, since he is now supporting legislation to regulate and slow down the construction of data centers.

Ohio's economic expansion model works with county commissioners to select industrial development sites, including factories and, increasingly, data centers. Sites can be sold before residents know what is coming, with only ambiguous zoning changes signaling development and fueling local protests.

Residents then help fund the transmission and distribution infrastructure needed for those facilities. That has driven efforts in Congress to pass the Ratepayer Protection Act and shift those costs, which are not publicly disclosed.

"That contract between them (energy providers) and the company is a private contract," Dale Arnold, Ohio Farm Bureau's director of energy, utility and local government policy, told DTN in an interview earlier this year. "Trying to find those things out, because it is a private contract, that's going to be rather difficult to do."

To rectify public concern, Gov. DeWine issued a pause on consideration of any new data center tax exemption requests this summer. The Ohio EPA also decided to maintain permitting for data centers.

Despite Ohio Republicans backing away from support for rapid data-center expansion, Trump said at rally in Vandalia, Ohio, over the weekend, "Look, there's so much money to be made for Ohio. You can't just turn them off. They'll go to China."

FARM SUPPORT

Ohio farmers have also weighed in on data-center development.

The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation supported DeWine's tax pause and permitting process.

Many members who hold locally elected roles understand environmental concerns over land use but also see potential benefits from the tax base that data centers can bring to a rural region.

OFBF has described their position as ensuring land-use changes are guided by "responsible economic growth."

How data center frustration translates to the ballot box depends on Republicans' willingness to show up, Covey explained.

"The other issue for Republicans in these states is not that these people are going to come out and vote for Democrats in large numbers; it's that they're just going to sit the election out, and they're not going to be motivated enough to vote for a Republican if they are dissatisfied with the state of the economy," she said.

Recognizing the need to get people the polls, Trump said at the Ohio rally, "Even if you hate Jon Husted, even if you hate Vivek Ramaswamy, you're going to go out, you're going to vote."

Beyond their stances on data centers, both candidates share similar views on most farm policy, including expanding E15, passing a farm bill, renewing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and providing risk-management tools, with differences largely centered on President Donald Trump's handling of those issues, according to responses to an Ohio Corn & Wheat voter guidebook.

Husted's top donors include the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Ohio Cattlemen's Association, Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association and Altria Group, each giving $10,000, with nearly 30 agribusiness PACs contributing $117,050.

Brown's only agribusiness PAC donation as of July 16 was $10,000 from Ohio Corn & Wheat, as many agricultural organizations typically support incumbents.

See the Non-partisan Ohio Agriculture Voting Guide here:

https://ohiocornandwheat.org/….

To learn more about the Ratepayer Protection Act, see a press release here:

https://www.husted.senate.gov/….

Jake Zajkowski can be reached at jake.zajkowski@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @jzajkow

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