Data center health concerns become a midterm campaign issue in Ohio and Arizona

Mixed · 2Opposition to the rapid spread of data centers, partly driven by health worries, has become a flash point in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, particularly in Ohio and Arizona. 1 2 Mixed · 2In Page, Arizona, resident Doug Herrera, 64, opposes a proposed $10 billion data center, citing light pollution, sound pollution and rising temperatures. The City Council approved the sale of 500 acres, but the developer still needs zoning and other approvals, and residents have signed petitions against construction. 1 2 Mixed · 2In Arizona's competitive 1st Congressional District, Republican Jay Feely, who won his primary with Donald Trump's endorsement, says data centers are key to keeping up with China. Democrat Amish Shah wants a pause on new construction there, and the state's attorney general has called for a pause on new approvals and building. 1 2

Mixed · 2In Ohio, more than a dozen local referendums or initiatives on data centers will be on ballots, the most of any state. In the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Sherrod Brown is running ads calling Republican Sen. Jon Husted "the face of data centers." 1 2 Mixed · 2Husted has called data centers a local issue and has said he wants the companies building them to pay for infrastructure costs, including energy. A spokesperson said the senator believes "data centers should remain a local decision." An Aug. 18 National Republican Senatorial Committee memo, obtained by Politico, called data centers "the anchor hanging around Husted's neck." 1 2 Mixed · 2Polls show broad opposition: a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found two in three Americans oppose new data centers. An August opt-in poll in Arizona found 57% opposed, and an early-October opt-in survey in Ohio found 55% opposed. 1 2

Mixed · 2Environmental studies have linked the air pollution from gas turbines and backup generators to heart, respiratory and cancer risks. Modeling led by University of California-Riverside researchers estimates emissions could cause nearly 1,300 deaths annually by 2030 and a public health burden above $20 billion a year in 2028. Advocacy and environmental groups also cite noise above 90 decibels, light pollution, heat islands and forever chemicals in cooling components. 1 2 Mixed · 2Alison Steele of the Environmental Health Project says health research is only beginning and may arrive too late. The Data Center Coalition, an industry trade group, says a review of Virginia found backup power use is minimal and that state and federal regulations limit emissions and impacts. 1 2 Mixed · 2The issue cuts across party lines and pits some Republicans against Trump, who supports data centers as vital for economic growth. About 1,400 data centers operate in the U.S. with more than 2,000 planned, and most new capacity is in states Trump won in 2024. Wright State University political scientist Lee Hannah says earlier approvals have become "career-ending" for some officials. 1 2