Data centers are on the November ballot in these 18 Ohio communities
One petition organizer in Piqua turned health fears from a battery plant into a mayoral recall bid after Meta proposed a 1,400-megawatt facility there.

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One petition organizer in Piqua turned health fears from a battery plant into a mayoral recall bid after Meta proposed a 1,400-megawatt facility there.

The GOP nominee attacks Ohio’s COVID response and promises to fix Medicaid, property taxes, electric bills, universities and data-center policy. Republicans have dominated Ohio state government since the mid-1990s, and his running mate now leads the Senate.

The Republican senator spent years championing Ohio’s data center buildout. At a Bowling Green rally this week, residents pointed to rising electric bills and accused Husted of helping create a problem he is now trying to rein in.

The Ohio Republican made the comments while directing the state office responsible for workforce transformation. Husted later helped promote data centers, artificial intelligence and robotics across Ohio.

As other states slam the brakes on hyperscale data centers, Ohio already has nearly 18 gigawatts under contract with one utility alone. Ramaswamy wants the projects to keep coming.

PJM's capacity charges have jumped tenfold since May 2025, and Ohio has no independent review of transmission costs tied to unproven data center demand.

The city has continued paying less than 5 cents per kilowatt-hour under a contract that expired more than two years ago. NOPEC hopes to soften the coming increase by pooling Tiffin with 11 other communities as Ohio confronts rapidly growing electricity demand.

Several have major interests in private-school expansion, artificial intelligence and the data-center economy.

Data center opponents say the money from tax breaks for wealthy corporations could have funded schools or roads instead.

The Cherokee, Seminole and Kickapoo nations have banned data centers on tribal land, saying developers target sovereign nations to skirt state and local rules.

A former Ohio utility regulator calls Vivek Ramaswamy’s pledge an election gimmick. An energy researcher says he does not know how it would work. Even the head of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, which endorsed Ramaswamy, says the economics are too undefined to understand.

Danny Caine's podcast finds bipartisan opposition nationwide, secret Ohio tax breaks worth $2.3 billion, and warehouse workers already monitored by GPS and biometric cameras.

The Ohio Republican voted for legislation restricting local governments from adopting rules specifically targeting large cryptocurrency-mining operations, then added his name as a cosponsor.

In Ohio, Gary Click sponsored legislation directing a state commission to examine “foreign propaganda” behind opposition, while Vivek Ramaswamy and Jon Husted spent years openly cheering the industry's expansion.

Critics call the $18.5 million in donations a PR move timed to a GOP memo warning data centers could cost Husted his Senate seat.

‘Coughing up stuff from my lungs is an ongoing daily occurrence,’ said Joe Fuller, who works in data centers throughout Ohio.

A GOP memo obtained by Axios warns data center backlash could cost Husted his seat, the same argument protesters made outside his Lima appearance.

The NRSC memo urges AI companies to fix their own public image, warning that a Husted loss could make politicians nationwide wary of backing data centers.

Rader warns BlackRock's stake in data centers could create conflicts of interest, while Dayton demands 20-year job and headquarters guarantees before PUCO approves the $10.7 billion sale.

United For ALICE data shows 37% of Ohio households couldn't cover basics in 2024, the gap Acton's tax credit and data center cost-shifting plan targets ahead of a close November race.
