West Virginians Vote as 2025 Data Center Law and Cost of Living Drive Turnout
Updated
Updated · West Virginia MetroNews · Oct 30
West Virginians Vote as 2025 Data Center Law and Cost of Living Drive Turnout
3 articles · Updated · West Virginia MetroNews · Oct 30
Summary
Polls open at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday in West Virginia, where turnout is being shaped less by national social issues than by fights over data centers, transmission lines and household costs.
House Bill 2014, passed in 2025, stripped local governments of much of their control over data centers, turning projects in Mason County and the Eastern Panhandle into campaign flashpoints over water use, noise and local authority.
NextEra Energy’s Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link has also become a cross-party issue, with residents in affected counties opposing the transmission line as state Public Service Commission hearings continue through Monday.
Early-voting reports from Kanawha County showed more Democrats and fewer Republicans than at the same point in the 2022 midterm, a shift local Democrats tie to frustration over President Donald Trump’s policies and rising living costs.