Ohio's Husted and Brown both pledge data center limits as power bills and local votes loom

With a week to go before the Nov. 3 election, candidates of both parties in Ohio are trying to answer voter anger over data centers. These are the huge buildings full of computers that power artificial intelligence and online services, and they use enormous amounts of electricity. The issue touches the Senate race, the governor's race and dozens of local votes.

Electricity costs in Ohio are about 50 percent higher than six years ago, according to a New York Times report republished by The Boston Globe. Ohio's data center facilities have grown ninefold since 2020 ¹. The Columbus area is the country's second-fastest-growing data center market, according to the research firm Cleanview ¹.

Senate race: Husted and Brown

Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who is running in a special election against Democrat Sherrod Brown, says data centers "should only be located where communities want them." He previously supported tax breaks for them as lieutenant governor ¹.

Brown, a former senator, says Ohioans "should get to decide if data centers are built in their community." He has also argued that large technology companies should bear the full cost of the power they use ¹².

From Channel GOPBrown: Husted took $116,000 from Epstein co-conspiratorSherrod Brown · 1.9K plays · captioned, with the source named

should get to decide if data centers are built in their community

Husted praised President Trump's Ratepayer Protection Pledge at a White House event in March. He said it helps ratepayers "win the affordability battle." Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI signed that pledge ².

Governor's race and local ballots

In the governor's race, Democrat Amy Acton backs a conditional moratorium, meaning a pause, on new data centers. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy would steer new projects to previously developed sites and provide free electricity to nearby residents ¹.

Ohio has 21 local data center ballot measures across 18 jurisdictions. That is more than half of the 39 nationwide, Newsweek reported, citing Ballotpedia. Several would ban facilities with electricity demand over 25 megawatts, and Grove City's would require voter approval for some large projects ². More than a dozen Ohio communities will vote on local limits ¹.

Why it may not decide the races

A New York Times/Siena poll found only 3 percent of likely Ohio voters called data centers and AI the most important issue in their vote for Congress ¹. David Niven, a University of Cincinnati political scientist, said local communities are in "full-on revolt," but that has not translated to statewide races ¹.

Sue Barton, 87, a Republican in Granville, collected signatures for a ban on large data centers. She is leaning toward Acton after an attack ad from Ramaswamy that she called "just beyond what people should do" ¹.

Ohio is part of the PJM regional power grid, so data centers elsewhere, such as in Virginia, could raise costs for Ohio customers. Ryan Hledik of the Brattle Group, a consulting firm, said policy changes also take years to show up in bills ¹.

The pattern is worth watching. Both parties now promise to make data center companies pay their way, but voters will test those promises on Nov. 3 and in the months after. As of Oct. 5, Newsweek reported Brown at 48.4% and Husted at 44% in a polling average ².

The Record

1. Mar 1, 2026Husted praised Trump's Ratepayer Protection Pledge at a White House event; seven tech firms signed it ².
2. Oct 5, 2026Newsweek reported Brown at 48.4% and Husted at 44% in a polling average ².
3. Oct 23, 2026The New York Times, republished by The Boston Globe, reported Ohio power costs about 50% higher than six years ago ¹.

Sources

1. The Boston Globe (New York Times), “Midterm voters, data centers and energy costs” (2026-10-23). bostonglobe.com/2026/10/23/business/midterm-voters-data-cent
2. Newsweek, “Ohio has half of US data center ballot measures in midterms” (2026-10-27). newsweek.com/ohio-has-half-of-us-data-center-ballot-measures

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