Wisconsin Campaign Ads Attack Candidates Over Data Center Support
The opinion article examines Wisconsin campaign attack ads that portray support for data centers as politically damaging. It argues that claims about data centers consuming excessive water, increasing electricity bills and destroying farmland are exaggerated, while calling for greater developer transparency and more informed local decision-making.
Campaign advertising in Wisconsin’s governor’s race has made data center development a political liability. Ads supporting Democrat David Crowley criticize Republican Tom Tiffany for backing data center and artificial-intelligence measures in Congress, while ads supporting Tiffany label Crowley “Data Center David” and accuse data center hubs of consuming large amounts of water, increasing electric bills and harming farmland.
The article says similar attacks are appearing in other Wisconsin races because polling shows data centers are unpopular. It argues that some concerns are overstated, while acknowledging that technology companies have not adequately explained data center operations and have sometimes pushed projects on unprepared local governments. The candidates are described as favoring cautious regulation focused on transparency, reasonable incentives and helping communities evaluate proposals.