Virginia's data center backlash spills into midterms — and 2027
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Virginia's growing data center skepticism is spilling onto the campaign trail, pushing candidates in both parties to address an industry the state spent years courting.
Why it matters: Concerns over electric bills, development and taxpayer subsidies are cutting across traditional partisan lines, even among Richmond-area lawmakers who aren't up for election until next year.
By the numbers: 73% of Democrats and 69% of Republicans oppose Virginia's data center tax break, according to a July VCU Wilder poll.
- In both parties, majorities also support requiring data centers to pay more to offset their electricity demands.
The big picture: Until the last few years, decisions over how — and whether — Virginia's data center boom should continue were largely left to localities.
- But as concerns grow, candidates are staking out positions on an issue that UVA elections analyst Kyle Kondik told Politico could pull some voters across party lines.
- Last month, Richmond-area Sen. Mike Jones called it a political vulnerability for fellow Democrats.
- "We're allowing Republican legislators to lead the argument on this," he said to the Commonwealth Times. "And that shouldn't be the case."
Zoom in: State Sen. Glen Sturtevant — a Chesterfield-area Republican up for election in 2027 — has called for an immediate data center moratorium, including in a new ad released Tuesday.
- Democrats have also pushed for tighter restrictions, including Jones' plan to propose banning local officials from signing NDAs with data center developers.
For the November midterms: The debate is surfacing in the Richmond-area 1st Congressional District, where Democrat and Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor is challenging Republican Rep. Rob Wittman.
- Taylor says data centers aren't welcome if they raise energy costs, pollute water or aren't built with union labor.
- Wittman backs bipartisan legislation aimed at ensuring data centers pay their infrastructure costs instead of passing them to customers.
Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat seeking a fourth and final term, has proposed greater disclosure around data center deals and tying some federal tax benefits to new standards.
- He's stopped short of supporting a moratorium, while Republican opponent Bert Mizusawa opposes data center sprawl and has criticized Warner's past support for the industry.
The intrigue: That bipartisan pushback has created unusual political overlap with environmental groups and Republicans, as both call to slow development and protect ratepayers.
- Organized labor is a counterweight, including for Chesterfield's Google campuses, warning politicians against blocking projects that create construction jobs, per the Wall Street Journal.
- Supporters also point to how data centers have brought significant tax revenue and investment to localities, including an affordable housing trust fund in Henrico.
What we're watching: Whether that skepticism translates into votes this November.