Data centers had a rough night. Across ten states, voters faced more than 40 local questions on server development, with 21 in Ohio alone, according to Ballotpedia’s tally. Moratoriums, rezoning limits and outright bans mostly carried.
Ohio voters in at least 14 municipalities backed restrictions, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Only one county appears to have endorsed more development, said Brad Carson of Americans for Responsible Innovation, who tracked results overnight.
Nearly a quarter of voters told NBC News that data centers were crucial to their vote. Roughly two thirds called the issue a major or minor factor, making it one of the cycle’s most durable local concerns.
Candidate-level results matched the ballot language. Sherrod Brown took an Ohio Senate seat after months of advertising that framed his opponent as the face of data centers. Democrats Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia and Gina Hinojosa in Texas won governorships after campaigning for pauses in two of the country’s biggest buildout hubs.
The backlash was not purely partisan. Republicans nicknamed Data Center Derek and DC Derrick lost House races in Ohio and Wisconsin, and New York incumbent Mike Lawler aired ads attacking his opponent’s past support for the industry.
Industry is responding. The Hill reported that environmental groups and major tech companies are collaborating on a Responsible Data Center Development Collaborative to draft development standards.
The economics could shift quickly. Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat, predicted the revolt would be remembered as an early tremor of a much larger political earthquake, including an end to favorable tax breaks.
