In his first campaign ad, Fitzpatrick’s democratic challenger Bob Harvie calls for data center moratorium

Democratic congressional candidate Bob Harvie, who is challenging incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district, has made a data center moratorium a key part of his campaign. In his initial campaign advertisement, Harvie stated, "I don’t want more data centers, I want a moratorium." This stance represents a departure from his previous support for the Amazon hyper-scale data center project in Bucks County.

The Amazon facility, a 600-megawatt development on a 250-acre former U.S. Steel plant site, has drawn considerable opposition from local residents. Their concerns primarily revolve around potential air pollution, anticipated increases in electricity rates, and significant water usage. The growing emphasis on data centers in political discourse is a national trend, with campaign and outside groups reportedly spending over $45 million on data center-related ad messaging in federal and gubernatorial races since January, according to an NPR analysis. Furthermore, a memo from the Democratic House Majority Political Action Committee has advised candidates to leverage discussions about tax breaks for tech companies found within President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Budget Bill," highlighting data centers as an unforeseen but notable part of this conversation.