Talarico criticizes Paxton over data center policy, donations; Paxton calls rival a hypocrite

Hood County Attorney Matthew Mills sought a legal opinion from the Texas Attorney General's office on February 23 regarding the Hood County Commissioner's Court's authority to declare a moratorium on data center development. This request followed five data center applications in Hood County and strong citizen demand for a halt on construction.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office has not responded to the request, nearly six months later, leading to criticism from his U.S. Senate opponent, Democratic hopeful James Talarico. Talarico accused Paxton of corruption, citing federal campaign finance reports that show Paxton's political action committees received significant contributions from individuals with stakes in data center development, including Tyler Winklevoss (Crusoe Energy) and Todd Platt (Hillwood).

Paxton's campaign dismissed Talarico's claims as hypocritical, alleging Talarico's own campaign infrastructure received substantial funding from donors with data center ties, specifically mentioning an $11 million contribution from LinkedIn Co-founder Reid Hoffman to a Super PAC backing Talarico. Hoffman recently left the board of Microsoft, which operates data centers in Texas. Talarico's campaign clarified that federal law prohibits coordination between campaigns and Super PACs.

The debate highlights a broader statewide concern, as data centers have become a contentious issue in Texas. Governor Greg Abbott has directed energy regulators to audit data center projects connecting to the state's power grid. Public opinion, as evidenced by a June poll from the University of Texas at Austin, shows that nearly 60% of all Texans, and 62% of rural Texans, oppose data center construction in their communities, primarily due to concerns over utility costs and water usage.