Ohio Senate race: Brown’s data center attack faces scrutiny over Google campaign funds

A contentious U.S. Senate race in Ohio has intensified with Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown launching a new campaign advertisement criticizing Republican Jon Husted over the expansion of data centers in the state. However, the ad, which features a facility owned by Google, has drawn sharp responses as records reveal that Google’s corporate political action committee and its lobbyists have contributed substantial funds to Brown’s past campaigns, sparking accusations of hypocrisy from the opposing camp.

The advertisement, released on September 4, highlights an Ohio resident expressing concern that the proliferation of data centers, spearheaded by Husted, is leading to higher electricity bills for local consumers. The facility specifically showcased in the ad, which commenced operations in Lancaster in 2023, is indeed owned by Google, placing the tech giant squarely in the middle of a heated political debate.

Contradictory campaign messaging sparks debate

The core of the criticism against Brown centers on what opponents describe as a “Jekyll-and-Hyde” political approach. While his campaign ad positions him as an opponent of data center expansion and its potential impact on utility costs, his political career has benefited from financial support linked to a major player in that very industry. This apparent contradiction has quickly become a focal point for the Republican campaign.

Mehek Cooke, a Republican strategist and attorney in Ohio, sharply questioned Brown’s stance. She stated that it appears Google is deemed “terrible enough” for an attack ad, yet “perfectly acceptable” when campaign contributions are involved. Cooke emphasized that Brown needs to clarify this inconsistency, particularly if Google’s investment in the Lancaster facility is considered detrimental to Ohio.

Financial ties to the tech giant

Campaign finance disclosures provide a clear picture of the financial relationship between Brown’s political endeavors and Google-affiliated entities. Over his career, Google’s corporate PAC has contributed a significant sum to the former Democratic senator. Beyond the corporate PAC, Brown has also received thousands of dollars from individuals who actively lobby on behalf of Google.

• Google’s corporate PAC has provided $20,000 to Sherrod Brown throughout his political career.
• Lisa Kountoupes, a Google lobbyist, donated $3,500 in March to Brown’s principal campaign committee, Friends of Sherrod Brown.
• Michael D. Smith, another Google lobbyist, contributed a total of $10,200 to Brown since 2017.
• An additional $6,000 has been received by Brown over the past decade from three other Google lobbyists.

These lobbyists’ firms are actively engaged in issues directly relevant to Google’s data center operations. Kountoupes’s firm has lobbied on “issues related to permitting reform” for Google’s data center needs, while Smith’s firm has worked on “permitting reform for grid reliability and energy affordability,” according to federal lobbying filings.

Brown’s campaign defends stance amid criticism

In response to the accusations, Lauren Chou, a spokeswoman for Brown’s campaign, reiterated the candidate’s opposition to the expansion of data centers in Ohio. She asserted that Jon Husted “led the charge” in bringing these facilities to the state, making him “the face of data centers” in Ohio, which now reportedly hosts 226 such centers. Chou’s statement underscored the belief that Ohioans should not be compelled to subsidize these costs and should have the ultimate say in whether data centers are built in their communities.

However, the campaign’s defense notably avoided addressing the specific issue of Brown’s past receipt of contributions from Google and its lobbyists. Meanwhile, Amy Natoce, a spokesperson for Husted’s campaign, countered by stating that Brown’s long tenure in Washington has failed Ohio families. Natoce accused Brown of resorting to falsehoods instead of confronting his own record. She also highlighted that Husted’s bipartisan legislation, which would mandate data center companies to cover their power usage, passed the House but was blocked by Senate Democrats, including, implicitly, Brown’s allies.

A shifting position on tech infrastructure

The current debate is not the first instance where Brown’s stance on data center development has appeared to evolve. In 2015, he publicly lauded the construction of an Amazon data center in central Ohio, issuing a press release that celebrated the new facility as “great news for New Albany and central Ohio.” This historical praise stands in contrast to his current vocal criticism of the industry’s expansion.

The issue of data centers has become a significant political battleground in Ohio. While former President Donald Trump has advocated for expanding these facilities, arguing that communities blocking them risk becoming “backwards and poor,” critics like Brown point to potential economic and environmental drawbacks. Strategists like Mehek Cooke also highlight the broader context, noting that the United States is engaged in a global competition for AI, computing capacity, and energy infrastructure, suggesting that domestic political attacks on data centers might overlook a larger strategic imperative.