Sherrod Brown regains Senate seat in data center-focused race

Democrat Sherrod Brown won back his former Senate seat from Republican incumbent Jon Husted, who had been portrayed by Brown as “the face of data centers.” The contest highlighted growing political resistance to the industry. Across the country, voters backed candidates favoring data center moratoriums and ballot measures that would create additional barriers to expansion.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee warned in a leaked summer memo that blaming data centers for a possible Husted defeat could make the industry appear toxic to future candidates. Husted had helped establish data center tax breaks while serving as lieutenant governor. More recently, he introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act in Congress, which would require large data centers to pay for infrastructure upgrades and energy costs. Brown repeatedly attacked Husted over the issue during the campaign. Brown has not called for a moratorium, but has said developers should not receive tax breaks or approval without local input.