Brown Targets Husted Over 200 Ohio Datacenters as Poll Gives Democrat 11-Point Edge
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Oct 8
Brown Targets Husted Over 200 Ohio Datacenters as Poll Gives Democrat 11-Point Edge
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Oct 8
Summary
Brown’s campaign this week rolled out billboards saying “See that datacenter? Jon Husted did that” and launched a website mapping Ohio facilities to tie the Republican senator to the buildout.
The attack centers on affordability: Brown says datacenters consume land, water and power while pushing up electricity bills, and he links Husted to $2.5 billion in state tax breaks granted from 2017 to 2024.
Husted’s campaign says Brown is lying because Husted lacked authority to grant those tax breaks as lieutenant governor, and points instead to his Ratepayer Protection Act aimed at making datacenters cover grid costs.
The issue may be resonating: a New York Times-Siena poll found voters trust Brown more on datacenter development by 11 points, while the Senate race itself remains tight with Brown up 3 points within the margin of error.
Datacenters have become a broader political flashpoint in Ohio, where nearly 140 communities have imposed moratoriums and Governor Mike DeWine paused tax exemptions in May.