Francesca Hong’s Loss in Wisconsin is a Win for AI Data Centers — for Now
Francesca Hong, a Democratic Socialist, lost Wisconsin's gubernatorial primary, which is seen as a political setback for the anti-data center movement. Hong had advocated for a statewide data center moratorium to study environmental and energy impacts, a position opposed by the primary winner, David Crowley. Despite this loss, the broader anti-data center movement continues to gain momentum nationally.
Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong's narrow defeat in Wisconsin's gubernatorial primary marks a political loss for the nonpartisan anti-data center movement. Hong's campaign had heavily emphasized her support for a statewide data center moratorium, which would have paused new data center construction to allow for environmental and energy impact studies and the creation of new regulations. Her opponent, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who ultimately won the primary, has explicitly denounced a moratorium, viewing it as a short-term solution.
Despite Hong's loss, the article indicates that the anti-data center movement is far from defeated and continues to gain significant traction across the country. Public opposition to resource-intensive data center projects is growing, with politicians in states from Maine to Texas grappling with calls to restrict development.
Examples of the movement's successes include candidates winning primaries in Colorado, Kansas, and Michigan on anti-data center platforms. Notably, William Lawrence won a House primary in Michigan's 7th District, and Abdul El-Sayed won his Michigan Senate race after denouncing data center proliferation at an OpenAI and Oracle campus in Saline Township. Kansas State Senator Cindy Holscher and Colorado's Melat Kiros also secured victories based on data center moratorium platforms.
Political strategists, such as Amanda Litman of Run for Something, suggest that data center opposition is a highly motivating issue for voters. The Sunrise Movement, which has backed several anti-data center candidates, emphasizes the need for Democrats to lead on this issue, advocating for people's interests over corporations profiting from unchecked data center expansion.