Ohio Senate race features $2.5 billion data center debate

More than one million Ohioans have cast early ballots ahead of the Tuesday election. The final week of the campaign has focused on three distinct policy battles between Democrat Sherrod Brown and incumbent Republican Senator Jon Husted.

The first major point of contention involves data centers. Brown’s campaign aired a commercial in which a voiceover calls Husted the face of data centers in Ohio. Brown cites a total estimate of $2.5 billion in tax incentives provided to these facilities over seven years. That figure includes state and local exemptions and comes from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. Husted’s campaign, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, countered that data centers are an anchor around his neck.

Husted addressed the issue in August during a conversation with reporters in Massillon. He accused Brown of flipping on the issue. Brown previously celebrated data centers coming to Ohio while serving in the Senate. Husted said Brown now pretends to support a different position. Husted sponsored a bill requiring data centers to pay their own utility costs. Democrats in the Senate blocked that measure, describing it as toothless. Husted noted that strict rules and bans remain state and local decisions, while Congress handles energy policy and federal tax incentives.

The second key issue is the war in Iran. Husted told reporters in Columbus in September that he does not know anyone who does not want the conflict to end. He stated that the goal is to ensure Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz or possess a nuclear weapon. Husted voted against a Democrat-backed war powers resolution designed to force an end to U.S. hostilities. Brown claims Husted voted 14 times against that resolution and other procedural efforts to stop it from reaching the Senate floor. Brown told reporters in Chillicothe this month that Democrats must end the war first.

The third issue is immigration. Husted pointed to Brown’s three terms in the Senate, including the term when President Joe Biden was in office. Husted told a crowd at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas that Democrats gave the nation open borders and sanctuary cities. He also claimed they voted to give tax dollars to illegal immigrants. That specific claim regarding tax dollars is false. It stems from Brown’s vote for the American Rescue Plan. That plan offered $1,400 checks to qualified individuals, a group that did not include undocumented immigrants.

Brown broke with his party on several immigration points. He supported stricter border policies and said in August that he did not support calls to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Brown told reporters in Dayton in September that he would not deport people contributing to the country. He said he would deport those who have been dangerous criminals. Husted supported the Trump administration’s decision to end temporary protected status for Haitians in July. He said that around 30 percent of Haitians believe they have another pathway to stay and work in the United States. Husted stated he wants the rule of law followed in a civil manner.

The winner of this race will serve out the remainder of the term for the seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance. Vance was elected to the Senate in 2022. He would need to run again in 2028 to keep the seat.