The ‘toxic’ issue that could tank a Republican in crucial Senate race is setting off internal alarm bells

An internal memo from the National Republican Senatorial Committee has warned that public anger over AI data centres could cost Senator Jon Husted his seat in Ohio's closely watched Senate race against Democrat Sherrod Brown, a contest that could help determine control of the chamber. Husted, previously a vocal champion of Ohio's push to attract technology firms as lieutenant governor, has become closely tied to the industry, and Brown's campaign has spent heavily on adverts casting him as "the face of data centres in Ohio" amid growing resentment over rising electricity costs.

A new Fox poll puts Brown eight points ahead of Husted, 53% to 45%, unchanged since June, with Republicans holding only a narrow Senate majority overall. Ohio hosts more than 200 data centres, the fifth-highest total of any US state, and generous incentives such as a 15-year, $43.5 million tax exemption for a Google facility have drawn criticism after the state's data-centre tax breaks reportedly cost nearly $1.6 billion in 2025. Husted has pushed the Ratepayer Protection Act to make large energy users help fund grid infrastructure, but Brown, despite once praising data-centre investment himself, has made the issue central to his campaign, echoing similar moves elsewhere, including Pennsylvania's new gubernatorial guardrails on the industry.