Democrats hope data center opposition will help flip Assembly district held by GOP since 1970s
Democrats in Wisconsin are leveraging anti-data center sentiment and opposition to tax breaks to challenge a Republican incumbent in the 30th Assembly District. A grassroots group, GROWW, held a rally in River Falls, criticizing the tax exemptions for their impact on water and wealth. The Public Service Commission has also modified electric rates for data center customers to protect ratepayers.
Democrats in Wisconsin are campaigning to flip a long-held Republican Assembly seat, targeting the 30th District by capitalizing on growing anti-data center sentiment across the state. They accuse Republican Assemblyman Shannon Zimmerman, the incumbent, of being the "architect" of tax breaks that have fueled a data center building boom and of having a conflict of interest due to his background as an AI executive.
A grassroots organization, GROWW, staged a rally in Downtown River Falls, advocating against AI data center development and the state's tax exemption for the industry. Co-executive Director Bill Hogseth criticized data centers for "extracting water" and "extracting wealth" from communities, urging support for Zimmerman's Democratic challenger, Kevin Knoke. Knoke, while not advocating for an outright ban, emphasizes the need for transparency, accountability, and environmental and ratepayer protections regarding data center development.
Zimmerman's 2023 bill, which would have required the Public Service Commission to prevent grid upgrade costs from being passed to residential customers and mandated water usage reporting by data centers, passed the Assembly but died in the Senate. However, its core language was integrated into the state budget and signed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, leading to an estimated $1.6 billion in tax exemptions. The Public Service Commission later independently modified electric rates for data center-scale customers to safeguard residential ratepayers.
The political struggle has seen both Republican and Democratic candidates accuse each other of being too close to the tech industry. The outcome of whether this strategy will enable Knoke to win the 30th District, which has been Republican since 1977, remains uncertain.