Ohio voters are turning surging electricity bills and the data center boom into a major test for both parties
Ohio's rapid data center expansion and rising residential electricity bills have become major issues in the state's competitive Senate and governor's races. Candidates are proposing different responses, including shifting infrastructure costs to data center operators, limiting development on farmland, and imposing a conditional moratorium until operators meet energy and environmental requirements.
Ohio's data center boom has become a central political issue as residential electricity bills rose more than 20% over two years. The state has more than 200 data centers, including Meta's Prometheus AI campus in New Albany, and voters are weighing whether the industry represents economic development or an unfunded burden on households.
Senate candidate Sherrod Brown has blamed Republican incumbent Jon Husted for the expansion, while Husted introduced the stalled Ratepayer Protection Act to shift electricity infrastructure costs from households to data center operators. In the governor's race, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy has promised to shield nearby residents from data center electricity costs and protect farmland, while Democrat Amy Acton has proposed a conditional moratorium on new facilities until operators cover their energy costs and meet environmental standards, with future projects limited to brownfields or previously industrial areas.