{
  "id": 8437109,
  "title": "Democrats try to ride data center backlash to election victory in rural US Midwest",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/democrats-try-to-ride-data-center-backlash-to-election-victory-in",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-19T10:05:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "CNA - Business",
    "slug": "cna-business",
    "url": "https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/democrats-try-ride-data-center-backlash-election-victory-in-rural-us-midwest-6396571"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In northwestern Ohio, the city of Defiance, home to 17,000 people, is bracing for a potential ban on large data centers. Residents recently collected signatures for a ballot measure aiming to restrict data center construction, following inquiries from tech companies. Meanwhile, the broader issue of data center construction has become a contentious political topic, with public concern over AI development, cloud computing infrastructure, environmental impacts, and corporate influence. In Ohio, where 71% of residents would support a temporary ban on new data center construction, a new poll shows. Democratic candidates are seizing this opportunity, particularly in rural districts where they have struggled in recent years. Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine has suspended new data center tax exemptions but failed to act before the summer recess. The issue has become a key battleground in Ohio's competitive congressional races and the closely watched US Senate race, with Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown accusing Republican incumbent Jon Husted of supporting the unpopular tax incentives and promoting AI infrastructure development. Both campaigns have proposed various policies to address the data center issue, including eliminating local property-tax abatements, requiring developers to cover incremental residential electricity costs, and mandating union labor standards.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Democrats try to ride data center backlash to election victory in rural US Midwest",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/democrats-try-to-ride-data-center-backlash-to-election-victory-in-8439439",
        "published": "2026-09-19T10:05:43.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}