Data centers have emerged as a central dividing line in the Ohio Senate race between Republican Senator Jon Husted and Democratic former Senator Sherrod Brown.
A debate over data center development has reshaped the midterm election, as a growing number of Americans say they do not want to see data centers in their communities. Proponents view data centers, a critical part of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, as an important lifeline. They view data centers as having the potential to bring good jobs, including union jobs, to their communities. However, critics have raised numerous issues with data centers including their impact on the environment, water usage, their potential to drive up electricity bills and noise pollution.
Large AI data centers have been popping up across Ohio over the past few years, according to a map of data centers published by activist Erin Brockovich.
Brockovich’s map details dozens of these large AI-focused data center campuses that have been built or are under development in the state. Her map focuses on “major AI-focused and hyperscale facilities,” and notes that smaller, unannounced facilities are not listed.
Hundreds of other “community reported” pins also show these smaller data centers across the state.
As voter concerns about data centers mount, Brown and Husted have pushed for guardrails on the campaign trail and have sought to position themselves as the stronger candidate to take on the issue when Congress convenes in 2027.
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Ohio Becomes Center of Data Center Revolt
Data centers have become such an important issue because they have “spread like the plague across rural Ohio, bringing with them noise, pollution, and higher utility rates,” David Niven, professor at the University of Cincinnati's School of Public and International Affairs, told Newsweek.
“Data centers have proven to be a powerful wedge issue for Democrats—as the data centers dot ruby red rural counties. Instead of responding to public outrage, Ohio Republicans have cheered data center construction and handed them tax breaks,” he added.
Brown, Niven said, was the first statewide candidate to seize on the potential of data centers.
Transparency with voters is another reason why data centers have been salient, Paul Beck, professor emeritus and academy professor of political science at Ohio State University, told Newsweek.
“I think voters are upset that data centers have been approved and subsidized by tax rebates without much transparency to voters,” he said.
The majority of Ohio voters do not want to see data centers in their own communities, a Bowling Green State University poll released in September found. Seventy-five percent of Ohioans would oppose, while only 25 percent would support, a data center being built in their community, the poll found. Meanwhile, 63 percent said they would oppose data centers being built anywhere in Ohio.
Seventy-eight percent said they support a temporary ban on data center construction “until more information can be gathered about their effects,” the poll found.
The poll surveyed 1,000 Ohio likely voters from September 1 to 10, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Where in Ohio Are Data Centers Being Developed?
Most AI data centers are being developed around Columbus. These areas offer access to a large population center in the central part of the Buckeye State. Several data centers have been constructed in Licking and Union counties, which are more suburban and conservative in nature. Franklin County, home to Columbus, also has several large AI data centers.
While Franklin County is solidly Democratic, the surrounding suburban counties that have drawn significant data center investment are more conservative. These counties have seen backlash. A petition in Licking County has sought to ban data centers over 25 megawatts, according to local station WCMH.
Economic reasons have drawn data centers to Central Ohio, Niven said.
“Central Ohio has proven to be a cheap date for the data center industry. Cheap, flat land. Attractive water rates and access to electric transmission lines. And a bit closer to population centers,” he said.
In total, Ohio has given at least $2.3 billion in sales tax breaks for data centers, Signal Ohio reported in June.
Where Jon Husted and Sherrod Brown Stand on Data Centers
Both candidates have responded to concerns about data centers.
Husted introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act in the Senate. It would have required states to consider establishing standards for when data centers and other large electricity users connect to the grid, an effort to avert rising electricity prices for consumers. It failed in the Senate, however, as Democrats voted it down, arguing it did not go far enough.
He has also pointed out that people are creating demand for data centers.
“We use all of these digital products that it processes. If we don’t want them then don’t use them. You can go back to the bunny ear antenna on your TV. You don’t need a data center. But if you’re connected to a wire, then you’re using the data center,” he said during an interview on the Strictly Speaking Unfiltered with Bob Frantz podcast. "When we look in the mirror, we are the problem.”
Newsweek's AI Policy Scorecard currently rates Husted as having a “mixed” viewpoint on AI.
As lieutenant governor, Husted was more supportive of data center development in the state. According to the Ohio Capital Journal, he did play a role in bringing them into the state and supported tax breaks for past projects.
Amy Natoce, campaign spokesperson for Husted, told Newsweek that Husted believes data centers “are, and should remain, a local decision.”
“Every community has different priorities, and local leaders are best equipped to decide what's right for their residents,” she said.
She accused Brown of “resorting to lies instead of facing his abysmal record head-on."
“The House overwhelmingly passed Sen. Husted’s bipartisan legislation requiring data center companies to pay for the power they use, but Senate Democrats blocked it. Sherrod Brown and his friends would rather play politics and stick Ohio families with higher electric bills than pass a commonsense solution. It’s despicable,” she said.
Meanwhile, Brown has cast himself as a skeptic when it comes to data centers.
“Ohioans are worried about the number of data centers entering our state – I am too. I’m running to take on the big corporations raising our utility bills, defend our resources, and protect our communities,” he wrote in a September 19 post on X.
He believes that data centers should be required to pay the full cost of their utilities, and that Ohioans “shouldn’t be forced to subsidize these costs,” according to his campaign website.
Newsweek reached out to Brown's campaign for comment via email.
Labor Unions in Ohio Support Data Centers
Labor unions are another factor complicating the data center debate in Ohio. Historically, union voters are an important voter bloc in the state and have been a cornerstone of the political base that backed Brown in the past.
But they are more supportive of data centers, seeing them as an opportunity to create union jobs in a state that has seen disruptive economic shifts over the past few decades.
Dorsey Hager, executive secretary-treasurer at Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, told Politico that it is “unhelpful” when politicians take a position against data centers.
“Was I tickled to death when I saw some of his commercials? Absolutely not,” Hager said.
Niven said that some Democrats had “fuzzied up their position on data centers to keep from offending unions” as they view them as an important source of construction jobs.
“But the issue was just too big to keep playing patty-cake with the unions,” he said. “This is especially the case since, once built, there are very few jobs in a data center.”
Ohio Senate Race: Latest Polls
Polling has signaled a close race between Husted and Brown. RealClearPolling polling aggregate showed Brown with a 2.1-point advantage on Friday.
Brown was up 3 points in an InsiderAdvantage poll, which surveyed 1,200 likely voters from October 21 to 22. Forty-seven percent of respondents backed Brown, while 44 percent said they would vote for Husted in the poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.83 percentage points.
Meanwhile, Brown also led by 5 points in a Fox News poll, conducted by Beach Research and Shaw & Company Research from October 15 to 19 among 1,592 likely voters. Brown’s support stood at 52 percent, while Husted’s support was at 47 percent. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Sherrod Brown Seeks Comeback in Changing State
Brown served in the Senate from 2007 to 2025. During that time, the state saw significant political shifts, bringing it from a competitive battleground to a more conservative stronghold.
It was a key swing state for much of the 2000s, voting for former President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 before supporting President Donald Trump in all three of his presidential runs, including by an 11-point margin in 2024.
That trend has been driven by Trump’s inroads with white working-class voters who were previously more politically mixed. His gains came from rural counties as well as the northeastern region near Cleveland. At the same time, Democrats gained some ground in Cincinnati and Columbus suburbs, but not quite enough to offset Republicans' momentum in the rural areas.
But Democrats believe the race can be more competitive this year.
Historically, the party in the White House loses seats during the midterms, and Trump’s national approval rating has fallen since his return to office amid economic concerns centered around affordability and the cost of living.
Democrats believe that his poor approval rating can help carry them to victory in more conservative states like Ohio. The Ohio race has major implications, as it is one of a few toss-ups that could determine the balance of power in the next Congress.
Brown himself is a rare Democrat who was able to win Ohio in the Trump era—he won reelection in 2018, the last time there was a “blue wave” election. But he ended up losing to Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024 in a more challenging year for the party.
What Happens Next
The Ohio U.S. Senate race will continue to be watched as one of the most competitive of the 2026 midterm elections. Forecasters like the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball classify the race as a toss-up. Early voting is already underway in the state.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Anthony Murray and Jason Lemon.