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By Sam Stevenson
Associate News Editor
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Democrats hold a national polling advantage on data centers, a new NBC News survey has found, as former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown makes Republican Senator Jon Husted’s record central to Ohio’s Senate race.
The NBC News poll found that voters trusted Democrats over Republicans to handle data centers by 32 percent to 20 percent, although 44 percent chose neither party or said both would perform equally.
And nearly two-thirds of registered voters nationally said they would be less likely to support a candidate who backed a data center in their community, the September survey found, giving Democrats an opening in Ohio’s deadlocked Senate race.
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In a series of ads, Brown is casting Husted as the "face of data centers," arguing that companies have received large tax breaks while Ohio residents face higher electricity bills.
But Husted has called the attack hypocritical and said his Ratepayer Protection Act would make data centers cover the power infrastructure required to serve them.
"We know that our electric rates in this state are some of the highest in the country, and Jon Husted’s been the front guy on all of these data centers," Brown told News 5 Cleveland.
Husted has challenged that position by pointing to Brown’s earlier record.
"Sherrod Brown is such a hypocrite," he said. "He used to want to take credit for data centers coming to Ohio," citing a news release issued during Brown’s time in the Senate.
In a statement to Newsweek, Husted campaign spokesperson Amy Natoce accused Brown and Senate Democrats of blocking legislation intended to shield consumers from rising electricity costs tied to data-center growth.
"The House overwhelmingly passed Sen. Husted's bipartisan legislation requiring data center companies to pay for the power they use, but Senate Democrats blocked it," Natoce said. "Sherrod Brown and his friends would rather play politics and stick Ohio families with higher electric bills than pass a commonsense solution."
The two candidates are effectively tied in a contest that could help decide control of the Senate.
Ohio backed Democrats in 2008 and 2012 before moving sharply toward Republicans, culminating in an 11-point victory for President Donald Trump in 2024.
Ohio residents living near proposed sites could see concerns about electricity bills, water, farmland, and local control shape their votes.
"I don’t want them taking the farmland," one resident, Len Gordon, told NBC outside a planning commission meeting, warning that a proposed facility would "destroy this town," while Deborah Zimmerer said concerns about power bills, water, land and property values would "most definitely" affect the November vote.
Newsweek reached out to Brown and Husted’s campaigns via email for comment on Friday morning.
Why It Matters
Data centers have become a dispute over who benefits from America’s artificial-intelligence expansion and who pays for it.
Brown is linking their local costs to Husted, who is promoting federal legislation intended to protect electricity customers.
Husted’s Ratepayer Protection Act is now on the Senate calendar, opening a route to consideration without guaranteeing a vote.
Public Opinion on Data Centers
A nationwide NBC News poll of 500 registered voters, conducted from September 11 to 15, found 64 percent would be less likely to support a candidate who favored building data centers in their community.
That included 51 percent who were much less likely and 13 percent who were somewhat less likely.
Eleven percent said that position would make them more likely to support the candidate, while 22 percent said it would make no difference. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.38 percentage points.
The same poll gave Democrats a 12-point lead on which party voters would trust most in dealing with data centers.
Why Are Data Centers Important for the Ohio Senate Race?
The issue lets Brown combine affordability, corporate subsidies and community control.
His earlier support for development, however, gives Husted a counterattack.
In 2015, Brown welcomed an Amazon expansion as "great news for New Albany and central Ohio."
Asked by NBC what had changed since his earlier support for data-center development, Brown pointed to the industry’s growth and public subsidies.
"These out-of-state corporations have come in," he said, arguing that local communities had little say as projects took land, consumed water and contributed to higher electricity bills.
Brown acknowledged that the facilities could create employment, saying he had "insisted on any of these jobs that data centers bring, that they be union jobs."
But he added: "The union members and the workers generally, they don’t want the higher electric bills. They don’t want to see their farmlands swallowed up."
Husted said siting should remain a local matter. "Local citizens and communities make those decisions, not me," he told NBC. "Local decisions decide whether they want data centers in their community."
That position remains unchanged, according to Natoce, who said data centers "are, and should remain, a local decision" and that local leaders are best equipped to determine what is right for their communities.
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Jon Husted vs. Sherrod Brown: What Latest Polls Say
The newest survey shows a statistical tie, while several earlier polls gave Brown leads of varying sizes:
- Quantus Insights: Brown 45.6 percent, Husted 45.3 percent. The poll surveyed 695 likely voters from September 21 to 23 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
- Trafalgar Group: Brown 45.4 percent, Husted 41.5 percent. It surveyed 1,085 likely voters from September 14 to 16, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 points.
- Bowling Green State University/YouGov: Brown 48 percent, Husted 45 percent. The survey covered 1,000 likely voters from September 1 to 10 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 points.
- InsiderAdvantage: Brown 47 percent, Husted 42 percent. It surveyed 1,200 likely voters from September 8 to 9, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 points.
- Fox News: Brown 53 percent, Husted 45 percent. The poll surveyed 1,008 registered voters from August 6 to 10 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 points.
- New York Times/Siena: Husted 50 percent, Brown 47 percent. It surveyed 601 likely voters from June 15 to 28 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 points.
Prediction-market traders on the U.S.-regulated platform Kalshi currently give Brown a 58 percent chance of winning, compared with 42 percent for Husted, although market prices reflect trader expectations rather than voter intentions.
As of September 25, the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball both rate the race as a toss-up, signaling that neither candidate has a clear advantage.
What Is the Ratepayer Protection Act?
The House passed the Ratepayer Protection Act by 417 votes to three on September 16.
It would establish a federal standard under which qualifying data centers cover the incremental cost of generation, transmission and distribution upgrades needed to serve them.
Facilities reaching peak electricity demand of at least 100 megawatts would fall within the bill’s definition of a large-load customer. Utilities would also require financial assurances before beginning related upgrades.
The measure would require state regulators to consider the standard rather than impose one national rate.
Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich blocked Husted’s attempt to pass it through unanimous consent, arguing that it did not go far enough.
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How Have the Campaigns Been Financed? What To Know
Brown’s campaign said it raised $17.1 million in the second quarter of 2026. Husted’s campaign announced $7.7 million raised during the same period and more than $11 million in cash on hand.
Latest Developments in the Ohio Senate Race
Crypto-backed super PAC Fairshake plans to spend at least $30 million opposing Brown in the November 3 special election.
The announcement came after Senate Democrats opposed a procedural vote on the Trump-backed CLARITY Act on September 15, although Brown is not serving in the chamber and did not participate.
Patrick Eisenhauer, Brown’s campaign manager, said Husted was "for sale" and accused special interests of panicking.
Olivia Tripodi, press secretary for Husted’s Senate office, said he believed the legislation would protect consumers while supporting domestic innovation and job creation.
Newsweek*’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn* here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Sam Stevenson and James Debens
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