Data centers on the 2026 ballot

Who said what - sourced, neutral, as of 2026-08-12

Data centers and electric bills are a named issue in the 2026 midterms. This page tracks races where candidates have taken verifiable public positions - stated as they stated them, with a source for every entry, no endorsements, no scoring. It exists because 'what did they actually say' is surprisingly hard to look up.

What each office can actually do

Different offices control different parts of an electric bill. State public utility commissions (called the Public Service Commission or Corporation Commission in some states) review and approve the retail rates utilities charge and decide which utility investments and costs may be recovered from customers. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulates wholesale power sales and interstate transmission - costs that feed into the delivery portion of bills - while regional grid operators (RTOs/ISOs) run multistate wholesale markets. Governors and state legislatures do not set rates directly; they shape the framework, such as whether the state allows retail competition, siting and tax policy, and energy standards that influence which facilities get built. Source: Bipartisan Policy Center, 'Who Impacts Your Electricity Bill?'

Races with verified positions

OH - Governor (2026)

Both major-party nominees have proposed conditions or pauses on new data centers in a state with more than 200 operating, and NPR reported data centers as a top voter issue in the race.

• Vivek Ramaswamy (R): Announced three 'nonnegotiable' requirements for data centers (Aug 7, 2026): nearby Ohio families must receive free electricity or compensation that directly lowers residential electric bills; centers must pay full property taxes; and they must meet strict air and water standards while prioritizing brownfield and industrial sites. 'If any one of these three conditions is not met, the data center won't be built. Period.' The Vindicator (Youngstown)
• Amy Acton (D): Supports a conditional moratorium on data centers (Aug 7, 2026) unless they cover 100% of their utility costs, are built exclusively with union labor, operate with full transparency (ending non-disclosure agreements), adhere to Ohio's environmental standards, support local community needs, and bring jobs to former industrial areas. 'Ohio is open for business, but we are not up for sale.' The Vindicator (Youngstown)

PA - Governor (2026)

Rising PJM electricity prices and a wave of data-center proposals have made energy costs a central issue between the incumbent governor and his challenger.

• Stacy Garrity (R): Supports a temporary 'pause' on data-center development rather than a permanent moratorium: 'I'm not opposed to data centers, but we have to do them the right way' (June 2026). Favors mandatory rather than voluntary standards, supports repealing the sales-tax exemption for data centers, and prefers siting on brownfields and industrial sites. Spotlight PA (July 7, 2026)
• Josh Shapiro (D): Favors voluntary environmental, workforce, and energy standards tied to existing tax incentives (his GRID plan: 32% clean energy, 200+ construction jobs, $1.5 million in annual wages), saying in his February 2026 budget address 'We need to be selective about the projects.' His campaign did not respond to Spotlight PA's questions about supporting a moratorium. Spotlight PA (July 7, 2026)
• Josh Shapiro (D) - record in office: His office states his legal settlement with grid operator PJM capped capacity-auction prices ($333/MW-day for two auctions, extended April 2026 at $325/MW-day for two more), with claimed savings of $45 billion across the 13-state PJM region over four years, about $800 per household (July 15, 2026 release). Pennsylvania Governor's Office press release

WI - Governor (2026)

A statewide data-center moratorium was a defining dividing line in the August 11 Democratic primary, and both general-election nominees have stated data-center policies.

• David Crowley (D, nominee): Does not support a statewide moratorium; says data centers must bring their own 100% clean energy to the grid (Aug 7, 2026). Won the Democratic primary over Francesca Hong by less than one percentage point on Aug 11, 2026. The Milwaukee Courier (Aug 7, 2026); PBS Wisconsin (Aug 12, 2026)
• Tom Tiffany (R, nominee): Pledged to end data-center subsidies and repeal tax breaks, opposes data centers on farmland, and would push state regulators to keep older coal plants operating beyond planned retirement dates to meet power demand (Aug 7, 2026). The Milwaukee Courier (Aug 7, 2026); Wisconsin Public Radio (July 20, 2026)
• Francesca Hong (D, primary candidate): Was the only Democratic candidate supporting a statewide moratorium on new AI data centers - excluding projects already under construction - until enforceable rules on subsidies, utility-cost protection, environmental safeguards, and union labor are in place (she introduced AB1099): 'We don't have enough data on data centers right now to even measure that impact yet' (July 20, 2026). She narrowly lost the Aug 11 primary. Wisconsin Public Radio

MI - U.S. Senate (2026)

The Saline Township OpenAI/Oracle data-center campus and ratepayer protections were prominent issues in the Democratic primary, which Abdul El-Sayed won in early August 2026, setting up a general election against Republican Mike Rogers.

• Abdul El-Sayed (D, nominee): Opposes the Saline Township data-center project and further approvals absent federal rules: 'we cannot approve any more of these until we have federal-level guardrails' (Aug 8, 2026). His 'terms of engagement' framework calls for binding zero-rate-hike guarantees with data centers paying their own energy demands, reliability guarantees, closed-loop cooling, job commitments, and penalties for non-compliance (March 2026). NPR (Aug 8, 2026); Bridge Michigan (March 26, 2026)
• Mike Rogers (R, nominee): No verified public position on data centers or electricity costs found in fetchable sources as of Aug 12, 2026.

GA - Public Service Commission, Districts 3 and 5 (Nov 3, 2026)

Two statewide-elected seats are up on the commission that sets Georgia Power rates and approved a major grid expansion to serve data centers; Democrats flipped two seats in 2025 special elections after a series of bill increases.

• Peter Hubbard (D, District 3, incumbent): Published a data-center cost analysis estimating that data-center electricity discounts shift over a billion dollars in infrastructure costs onto residential customers; pushed for reconsideration of the PSC's 2025 approval of Georgia Power's $15.6 billion expansion, driven largely by data-center load, and campaigns on 'prioritizing lowering power bills instead of constantly increasing corporate profits.' Hubbard campaign site; Southern Alliance for Clean Energy candidate profile (May 2026)
• Fitz Johnson (R, District 3): Says the commission he served on protected ordinary customers from data-center costs: 'We put the ratepayers first. We said we're not going to put any burden on our ratepayers,' adding it did so '100 percent, without doubt' (May 2026). He voted for Georgia Power's multibillion-dollar expansion to serve demand coming mostly from data centers. Grist (May 15, 2026)
• Josh Tolbert (R, District 5): Has spoken against the PSC's approval of Georgia Power's massive energy-infrastructure expansion and campaigns on bringing an engineer's technical scrutiny to whether the grid is being overbuilt to serve data centers (June 2026). The Current GA / Georgia Recorder (June 9, 2026)
• Shelia Edwards (D, District 5): Says residential bill affordability motivated her candidacy - 'How are they gonna afford this situation?' (May 2026). No more specific verified statement on data centers found in fetchable sources. Grist (May 15, 2026)

AZ - Corporation Commission (2026, three of five seats)

Three seats on the utility regulator are up at once while Arizona Public Service and Tucson Electric Power seek roughly 14% rate increases citing data-center demand, extreme heat, and infrastructure costs.

• Kevin Thompson (R, incumbent): Said at a May 19, 2026 Clean Elections debate that 'growth pays for growth, that we're not going to allow (data center) user costs to be put on the backs of residential consumers,' and that the commission has told utilities cost causers must pay for infrastructure needed to serve their load. KTAR News
• Nick Myers (R, incumbent): Said at the same May 19, 2026 debate that 'cost causers are the cost payers' and that for data centers 'all of their costs are going to be paid by them and not by residential (customers).' KTAR News
• Democratic candidates: No verified public positions on data centers found in fetchable sources as of Aug 12, 2026.

AL - Governor (2026)

The two best-known candidates have staked out differing stated positions on whether to slow data-center construction.

• Doug Jones (D): Supports a data-center moratorium: 'I do not want to see Alabama become the dumping ground for data centers' (per Newsweek, July 21, 2026). Newsweek
• Tommy Tuberville (R): Supportive of data-center development; Newsweek reported him as more supportive of data centers than Jones (July 21, 2026). Newsweek

FL - Governor (2026)

Candidates in both parties have called for halting data-center construction, citing water, grid, and land-use concerns.

• David Jolly (D): Supports a pause on data-center construction until the state 'has a responsible plan to protect our water, power grid, and communities' (per Newsweek, July 21, 2026). Newsweek
• James Fishback (R): Calls for an outright ban on data centers, saying they are 'turning Florida farmland into a dystopian wasteland' (per Newsweek, July 21, 2026). Newsweek

IA - Governor (2026)

The major candidates differ on whether to pause data-center construction or instead change how the facilities are charged.

• Zach Lahn (R): Supports a data-center moratorium: 'Iowa farmland should not become a playground for billion-dollar corporations' (per Newsweek, July 21, 2026). Newsweek
• Rob Sand (D): Does not call for a moratorium; says data centers should 'pay their fair share' (per Newsweek, July 21, 2026). Newsweek

ME - Governor (2026)

Candidates from both parties have stated support for pausing data-center construction, citing water, environmental, and ratepayer concerns.

• Hannah Pingree (D): Supports a moratorium; says she would enact one to 'protect our water, environment and energy ratepayers' (per Newsweek, July 21, 2026). Newsweek
• Bobby Charles (R): Supports a temporary moratorium pending an impact assessment (per Newsweek, July 21, 2026). Newsweek

Federal context

• Ratepayer Protection Pledge: A voluntary pledge first announced in the Feb 24, 2026 State of the Union and signed at the White House on March 4, 2026 by Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI. Signers commit to five points: build, bring, or buy all necessary power supply; pay for new power-delivery infrastructure upgrades; pay negotiated rates regardless of usage; invest in local hiring and workforce development; and coordinate with grid operators on resilience, including backup generation during shortages. On July 23, 2026 the administration announced an expansion to include governors, state legislators, developers, and power providers. U.S. EPA news release (July 23, 2026)
• Power for the People Act (Senate): Introduced Jan 15, 2026 by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) with seven Democratic cosponsors. The bill would direct states to create separate rate classes for data centers, require FERC to ensure data centers pay for local transmission upgrades their demand triggers, create incentives for clean energy and battery storage offsets, and improve load forecasting. Van Hollen: Americans 'shouldn't have to foot the bill for big corporations' massive expansion' of data centers. Office of Sen. Chris Van Hollen, press release

Positions are close paraphrases of public statements at the linked sources, dated as of 2026-08-12; candidates change positions - check the source. Corrections: contact@whopaysfordatacenters.com.