Sen Bernie Moreno warns of data center backlash impacting Ohio Senate race

Senator Bernie Moreno recently voiced concerns about the swift growth of large data centers in Ohio and their potential influence on the forthcoming midterm elections. While Vice President JD Vance promotes these centers as vital for fueling the US artificial intelligence sector, Moreno warns that local residents might begin to worry about the strain on the energy grid. He delves into the political implications and emphasizes the critical competition in the AI landscape, particularly against China.

In a recent ad, former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown is taking aim at Republican Senator Jon Husted, spotlighting Ohio’s expanding data center sector. The ad prominently features a Google-owned facility, which has financially supported Brown’s campaigns through its corporate PAC and lobbyists.

This advertisement, released on September 4, includes an Ohio resident attributing the push for data centers to Husted and claiming it leads to “higher electric bills.” The Google facility highlighted in the ad opened in Lancaster earlier this year.

Campaign finance records indicate that Google’s PAC has contributed $20,000 to Brown’s political endeavors. Additionally, Brown has received notable contributions from lobbyists affiliated with Google, particularly those involved in energy and permitting issues.

“It seems Google is bad enough for a campaign attack ad but their political donations are just fine,” remarked Mehek Cooke, a GOP strategist in Ohio. Cooke questioned the inconsistency in Brown’s approach, suggesting if Google’s investment in Lancaster is detrimental, why accept their political funding?

Among those contributing are Google lobbyists Lisa Kountoupes and Michael D. Smith, who have donated significant amounts to Brown’s campaigns since 2017. Kountoupes’s firm was recently retained by Google to lobby on permitting issues related to their data centers.

Brown’s campaign spokesperson, Lauren Chou, emphasized Brown’s opposition to the expansion of data centers in Ohio, attributing leadership of this push to Husted without addressing the contributions from Google. She described Husted as a “chief reason” for the number of data centers in the state, asserting that Ohioans should have a say in such developments without bearing the financial burden.

Cooke criticized Brown’s attempts to distance himself from Google, labeling it as a contradictory form of politics. “He has presented himself as a champion for the working class while often aligning with corporate interests,” she noted.

Brown, aiming to reclaim his Senate seat after a loss in 2024 to Senator Bernie Moreno, has faced scrutiny in the past regarding his stances on various issues, making this election particularly contentious.

Interestingly, in 2015, Brown had publicly celebrated the opening of an Amazon data center in central Ohio, depicting it as beneficial for the area. Now, he has shifted his stance, expressing strong opposition to the increasing number of data centers across Ohio ahead of the midterms. Donald Trump has also called for expanded facilities, cautioning that communities rejecting them might fall behind economically.

Cooke remarked on the broader implications of these political maneuvers, asserting that with the global race for AI and energy infrastructure, the focus should not solely be on political advertisement strategies.

Husted’s campaign spokesperson criticized Brown’s record, claiming that he has failed Ohio families during his extensive tenure in Washington. She contended that it’s hypocritical for Brown to criticize while he has benefited from political contributions from Google.