Senate Democrats Deny Vulnerable GOP Colleague a Win, Blocking Data Center Bill They Call ‘Toothless’

Democrats have denied one of their GOP colleagues a much-needed win as he heads into a tough midterm battle, choosing to block his bill aimed at keeping energy costs low amid a rapid increase in the construction of data centers. Senator Jon Husted has a long history of drawing data centers and tech investments to the state, which his Democratic opponent is more than happy to highlight. The Ratepayer Protection Act is not a binding piece of legislation that would guarantee set energy costs for American families. The bill, which passed the House 417–3 earlier this month, would be a “light touch approach” that “provides a federal recommendation while preserving state power to regulate electricity markets,” according to a summary of the bill provided by House Republicans. The bill directs state utilities companies to consider new large load standards for facilities using immense amounts of power, which could then help ensure the average family is not paying more. Dozens of states have already enacted such regulations. Mr. Husted was hoping for one last win headed into the final month of the midterm campaign as he faces off against a Democratic former lawmaker, Senator Sherrod Brown, who lost his own re-election bid in 2024. Mr. Husted was appointed to fill the Senate seat of Vice President JD Vance, and Messrs. Husted and Brown are vying to serve out the remainder two years of Mr. Vance’s Senate term. Whoever wins in November will be on the ballot again in 2028 for the regularly scheduled Senate election. According to polls, Mr. Brown is the clear favorite to win the Senate race. Mr. Husted has not led in a single public poll since June, and poll aggregates now show Mr. Brown leading Mr. Husted by around four points. Mr. Brown is considered an especially strong candidate for Democrats given his record of overperforming his party. Though he lost in 2024, Mr. Brown overperformed the Democratic presidential ticket by more than seven points. Mr. Husted, meanwhile, has not won a statewide election in Ohio on his own in more than a decade, when he ran for re-election as the secretary of state in 2014. Throughout a 25-year career in Ohio politics, Mr. Husted has served as the speaker of the state house of representatives, secretary of state, and lieutenant governor. As lieutenant governor, one of Mr. Husted’s most noted accomplishments was drawing new tech investment to his state, including money to build data centers. According to the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, between 2017 and 2024, the state government gave more than $2.5 billion in tax incentives to those building and operating data centers. Mr. Husted heralded many of those investments and data center construction sites as signs of economic revitalization for Ohio. “There’s real benefits to real people who live here and call central Ohio home,” Mr. Husted said at the 2019 groundbreaking of a $600 million Google data center. On Wednesday, Democrats denied Mr. Husted and Republicans more broadly a messaging win ahead of the midterm elections, as voters increasingly distrust the AI industry and those building data centers. The Senate minority leader, Senator Chuck Schumer called Mr. Husted’s bill a “toothless” political ploy.“Plain and simple, the Ratepayer Protection Act is a fraud,” Mr. Schumer told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday. “It does not require any protections at all. While Americans are demanding real guardrails on AI and data centers, Republicans are offering a toothless messaging bill. We need real action on data centers.” In a procedural vote Wednesday, Democrats blocked Mr. Husted’s bill from coming up for a final vote. In total, 57 senators voted to end debate and proceed with the bill, short of the 60 votes needed.

Senate Democrats Deny Vulnerable GOP Colleague a Win, Blocking Data Center Bill They Call ‘Toothless’

Senate Democrats Deny Vulnerable GOP Colleague a Win, Blocking Data Center Bill They Call ‘Toothless’

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