Senate candidate Michael Whatley accepted $27,000 from data center developer
U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley accepted $27,000 from people affiliated with KKR, which co-owns CyrusOne and its data center projects in Durham and Lee County. The Lee County project faces grassroots opposition, including a petition signed by more than 2,800 residents seeking a data center moratorium and concerns about noise, farms, quality of life and grid costs.
Republican U.S. Senate nominee Michael Whatley has accepted $27,000 in contributions from executives, investors and partners affiliated with KKR, the private equity firm that jointly owns CyrusOne with Global Infrastructure Partners. CyrusOne operates the DUR1-DUR2 campus in Research Triangle Park near Raleigh-Durham International Airport and is developing another data center campus in Lee County near Sanford.
The Lee County project has drawn significant local opposition. More than 2,800 residents signed a petition calling for a moratorium, while farmers told county commissioners that data center noise could harm their property, livestock and quality of life. Whatley has said he opposes direct subsidies but supports tax breaks for data centers; his campaign says developers should pay for their electricity and grid upgrades without shifting costs to residential customers.