Florida governor candidate Jolly labels opponent 'data center Donalds'
The Florida gubernatorial race sees data centers become a central campaign issue. Democratic candidate David Jolly criticizes Republican Byron Donalds as 'data center Donalds' due to his past statements and campaign contributions. Donalds defends his stance by advocating for local control and proposing legislation to protect ratepayers from data center costs.
The 2026 Florida gubernatorial race is spotlighting data centers as a major campaign issue. Democratic nominee David Jolly has labeled his Republican opponent, Byron Donalds, "data center Donalds," accusing him of being a "darling for the data center industry" and claiming Donalds would bring more data centers to Florida if elected. Jolly's campaign released an ad suggesting a vote for Donalds is a vote for "a massive artificial intelligence data center on every street corner," highlighting their significant demands for land, power, and water, and citing polls showing public opposition.
WESH 2 News political reporter Greg Fox fact-checked Jolly's claims. Donalds did state in May 2025 at the Economic Club of Miami that data centers and power would be important for Florida's future. Fox also confirmed that Donalds has received over $4.1 million from more than 225 donors in tech, energy, and utility sectors, in addition to a $5 million commitment from the AI-backed Leading the Future Super PAC. However, Donalds' campaign maintains that contributions will not influence his decisions.
Regarding Jolly's claim that Donalds pledged to hand over land to donors, Fox found it false and misleading, noting Donalds' comments about available pristine land were in the context of increasing energy demand from both data centers and population growth, advocating for embracing such development while maintaining the state's beauty. Donalds' campaign emphasized his commitment to local control, stating, "If communities don’t want data centers, there will be no data centers in those communities." Donalds has also filed the "Protecting Ratepayers Act" in Congress, which aims to prevent residents from footing the bill for data centers. The transcript ends with Jolly proposing a one-year moratorium if elected.