Angst over data centers continues to grow across Ohio and dominate key races on the November ballot.
Now, pro-AI and business groups are pushing back.
The national advocacy group Build American AI − affiliated with a leading AI super PAC − plans to spend $10 million in Ohio and two other states to tout "commonsense policies" for data centers, according to the organization. Another effort, spearheaded by the Ohio Business Roundtable, will partner with advocates at the local level.
"We can protect ratepayers, safeguard our natural resources, respect communities' right to decide whether they want to welcome this investment and still build the infrastructure America needs to lead the world in artificial intelligence," Build American AI said in a statement.
The initiatives come as state officials and candidates contend with data center backlash in communities across Ohio. Ohio is home to 240 existing or planned data centers, according to Data Center Map, which tracks facilities across the globe.
Critics say data centers increase energy demand and contribute to higher electric bills. In response, regulators approved a data center tariff for American Electric Power that requires new, large data centers to cover at least 85% of their contracted electricity capacity. AEP partnered with Meta, Amazon and other companies to give more than $18 million to help people pay their bills.
Opponents also worry data centers consume too much water and could harm the environment. In the Columbus area, data centers used more than 1.2 billion gallons in one year − about 3% of the utility's water consumption.
Pro-AI groups launch effort to reshape debate
Ohio candidates on the Nov. 3 ballot have taken notice.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy wants to end property tax abatements for data centers and require companies to pay or reimburse neighboring Ohioans for their electric costs. His opponent, Democrat Amy Acton, said she'd make data centers cover their own utilities, use 100% union labor and build on brownfields.
In Ohio's U.S. Senate race, former Sen. Sherrod Brown has run ads calling Republican Sen. Jon Husted the "face of data centers." The National Republican Senatorial Committee warned the issue could hamstring Husted's election prospects, even as he pushes for legislation urging companies to pay for their power.
"They got huge tax breaks to move here, they've not guaranteed that Ohioans won't subsidize their electricity, they've not asked any local communities," Brown told reporters Sept. 18. "People all over the state are voting against having these in their communities, and these big AI companies don't seem to care."
That's the perception pro-data center advocates hope to change.
Build American AI, which has $50 million in the bank, plans to spread its message with paid advertising, research and grassroots engagement. A September report commissioned by the group argues AI could help Ohio "become a center of American industrial growth once again." It also urged policymakers to prevent utility cost shifting and replace open-ended tax breaks with "capped, phased, performance-based agreements."
For Build American AI, combating what it perceives as misinformation is a big piece of the puzzle. The group said "the loudest and most extreme voices" shouldn't drive the conversation about the future of AI in Ohio and nationwide.
The Ohio Business Roundtable shares a similar goal. That initiative − dubbed Future Ready Ohio − aims to equip communities with information so they can decide whether a data center project is the right fit, said Alexandra Denney, the organization's senior vice president of external relations.
Denney said the education campaign was in the works before election season heated up.
"(Ohioans) are right to be skeptical based on everything you see and read on the internet," Denney said. "But a lot of that is rooted in misinformation."
Columbus Dispatch reporter Nora Igelnik contributed to this report.
State government reporter Haley BeMiller can be reached at hbemiller@usatodayco.com or @haleybemiller on X.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohioans are fed up with data centers. Pro-AI groups want to change that
