In Ohio, data centers become an election campaign issue — Channel NewsAsia
In the city of Defiance, Ohio, United States, residents collected signatures to put a ban on the construction of all but the smallest data centers to a vote on November 3. Although no company has yet announced plans to build such a facility in the city of about 17,000 people, local authorities imposed a six-month moratorium on approving new projects. Channel NewsAsia reports, citing Reuters.
Discontent with tax breaks
Opposition to data center construction intensified after the release of state tax data. It showed that Ohio missed out on more than $2 billion in sales tax revenue because of data center incentives in 2024 and 2025. Amazon and Meta were named among the companies that benefited from these incentives.
Defiance residents also express concern about the potential impact of artificial intelligence infrastructure on agricultural land, electricity and water consumption. According to a Bowling Green State University poll dated August 31, 71% of Ohio residents would support a temporary ban on the construction of new data centers. FirstEnergy said household electricity bills in Defiance in June were 10–15% higher than a year earlier.
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An issue in election campaigns
The issue of data centers has become part of the electoral contest in Ohio. Democrat Marcy Kaptur, who is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in the district that includes Defiance, accused her Republican opponent Derek Merrin of supporting tax breaks for such facilities. Merrin said in a Facebook post that the relevant incentive had been introduced before he was elected to the state legislature.
The issue also features in the U.S. Senate election between Republican Jon Husted and former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown. Brown's campaign criticizes Husted for supporting the development of artificial intelligence infrastructure and tax incentives. A representative of Husted's campaign responded that he had proposed requiring data center operators to pay for the construction of additional generation capacity and power transmission lines.
Proposals for the state
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, suspended the acceptance of new applications for data center tax exemptions pending legislative changes. Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy proposed eliminating local property tax breaks for data centers and requiring them to cover households' additional electricity costs. His Democratic opponent Amy Acton supports limiting tax incentives, requiring developers to pay for their own energy infrastructure, applying union labor standards, and restricting construction on productive agricultural land.
