How data centers drove Utah's primaries
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State Senate President Stuart Adams' defeat in Tuesday's primary is being held up as a warning against support for data centers — but statewide results paint a more nuanced picture.
The big picture: Adams' loss to lawyer Stephanie Hollist is a major disruption in Utah politics, one that observers and experts ascribe to his role in ushering the massive Stratos data center proposal into Box Elder County.
- One of the most powerful office-holders in the state, Adams (R-Layton) served in the Legislature for more than 20 years, six as Majority Whip and eight as Senate President.
- He also chairs Utah's Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA), which advanced the Stratos project on behalf of "Shark Tank" celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary.
What they're saying: Adams became a "proxy" target for voter fury over the data center and perceived elitism among Republican leaders, Draper-based political consultant Taylor Morgan told Utah News Dispatch.
- "The timing of the data center controversy and the frustration in response to it is the key factor in this election," Morgan said.
Meanwhile, the two Box Elder County commissioners on the ballot — Republicans Lee Perry and Boyd Bingham — lost their primaries after approving the project.
The intrigue: Voters on Tuesday booted some — but not all — incumbents who supported other controversial data center proposals.
Zoom out: Here are races where public opposition to AI may have played a role.
- In Millard County, challenger Kevin Morris handily defeated GOP Commissioner Vicki Lyman, who voted in favor of two data centers near Delta, including one that would be the largest in the world.
- Republican Jon Caldwell, a Milford chiropractor with a campaign budget of less than $2,000 and no website, narrowly led Tammy Pearson, a well-connected Beaver County commissioner of more than a decade. Pearson has supported geothermal power development for data centers and was targeted with complaints after accepting a donation from an O'Leary lobbyist.
- In Carbon County, eight-year GOP incumbent Commissioner Larry Jensen fell behind challenger Daniel Campbell. Jenson praised a smaller proposed data center in Wellington. Meanwhile, Campbell is in a private water rights dispute with the county and an undisclosed company, leading to data center rumors that ultimately cast Campbell as an anti-AI underdog.
The other side: In other primaries, incumbents and establishment candidates survived opponents' attempts to paint them as AI boosters.
- In Iron County, incumbent Commissioner Mike Bleak narrowly won despite growing backlash against a data center he endorsed. But his GOP challenger Bruce McDonald didn't explicitly oppose it.
- State Rep. Karianne Lisonbee unsuccessfully tried to leverage opposition to Stratos in her campaign for U.S. Rep. Blake Moore's seat.
- Former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams won the Democratic nomination for Salt Lake's new left-leaning congressional district despite owning stock in one of Millard County's data centers.