Data-center controversy gives Democrats edge in tightly contested Ohio Senate race

National polling finds Democrats enjoy a 12-point advantage over Republicans on who should handle data-center development, with 32% of respondents favoring Democrats and 20% favoring Republicans; 44% remain undecided or see both parties as equal. In Ohio, former Senator Sherrod Brown is running ads that label Republican Jon Husted as the primary proponent of data-center tax breaks that, according to Brown, have driven up local electricity bills.

Husted rebuts the claim, calling the attack hypocritical and pointing to Brown’s own 2015 endorsement of an Amazon data-center expansion, while promoting his Ratepayer Protection Act to require developers to fund needed power infrastructure. Voters near proposed sites express concerns about higher electric rates, water use, farmland loss and property values, which could influence the November vote. Recent polls from Quantus Insights, Trafalgar Group, BGSU/YouGov and others show the contest as a statistical tie, and political analysts rate the race as a toss-up. The outcome may determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.