{
  "id": 8439439,
  "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",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-19T10:05:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Channel News Asia",
    "slug": "channel-news-asia",
    "url": "https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/democrats-try-ride-data-center-backlash-election-victory-in-rural-us-midwest-6396571"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the rural US Midwest, particularly in Ohio, Democrats are capitalizing on public backlash against data centers as a strategy to secure electoral victories. In Defiance, a city of 17,000 nestled among soybean fields, residents are actively opposing large-scale data center construction. After learning of inquiries from tech companies to the county's economic development group, residents collected signatures for a ballot measure banning all but the smallest data centers and placed a six-month moratorium on new project approvals.\n\nThis fight in Defiance is part of a larger trend across Ohio and the nation, where concerns about AI and cloud-computing infrastructure have shifted perceptions of data center construction from an economic boon to a contentious issue in midterm elections. Many Ohioans, 71% according to a recent poll, support a temporary ban on new data center construction, citing worries about AI's impact on farmland, electricity demand, and water consumption.\n\nThe backlash has given Democratic candidates a new opportunity in the rural US Midwest, where they have historically struggled to compete during Donald Trump's presidency. Ohio, with competitive races expected to decide control of Congress, has become a battleground for this issue. Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine suspended new applications for data center tax exemptions pending legislative reforms, leaving the future of AI development in Ohio uncertain and providing Democrats with a political target.\n\nDemocratic US Representative Marcy Kaptur is facing a tough reelection race, and she has extensively utilized data-center messaging in her campaign. She accuses her Republican opponent Derek Merrin of supporting unpopular tax incentives and links data centers to rising utility costs and corporate influence. Merrin contests Kaptur's claims, stating that the tax break was in place before he was elected.\n\nThe issue has also become central to the state's US Senate race, with Republican incumbent Jon Husted facing off against former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. Brown has criticized Husted for promoting AI infrastructure development and tax incentives, accusing him of prioritizing billionaire interests over Ohioans. Husted's campaign dismisses Brown's criticism, pointing to legislation he sponsored requiring data-center operators to cover the cost of additional electricity generation and transmission. The debate over data centers is now a key issue in Ohio's political landscape, with both parties devising proposals to address the concerns of voters in this crucial swing state.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CNA - Business",
        "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",
        "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."
}