Gop’s Hold On Florida Could Chart The Future Of Data Centers

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Many voters nationwide flat-out rejected data centers — and candidates who were linked to them — during last week’s midterm elections. But in Florida, the industry got its wish.

GOP Rep. Byron Donalds, a pro-business Trump ally whose campaign was flush with millions from the data center and tech industries, narrowly won the election for Florida governor over Democrat David Jolly, a staunch data center opponent. Donalds’ win was one of the GOP’s few major victories of the night, as Democrats took control of Congress and ousted Republicans in red-leaning states.

The data center industry also took an electoral beating, after data center-critical Democrats flipped governor’s races in states that have been industry hot spots. In Texas, Georgia and New Mexico, where tech giants like Google and Microsoft have planned massive data centers, Democratic governors-elect have pledged moratoriums on new projects. In hubs like Ohio and Nevada, the governors-in-waiting support tightening guardrails on the industry. The results reflect a burgeoning anti-data center sentiment nationwide: Voters have spurned the industry and the AI companies driving its booming growth.

“[AI companies] are going to have to cure cancer to convince people this is a good thing,” said Brendan Steinhauser, CEO of the Alliance for Secure AI, an AI safety group.

After last week’s wipeout, Florida is the most populous Republican-led state — and one still without a hyperscale data center, despite the industry’s efforts. Yet while Donalds has supported certain restrictions on data centers, he hasn’t gone as far as governors-elect in other states and has not been as hard line an opponent as outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). His victory could change the data center industry’s views about the Sunshine State’s viability, just as other states are pumping the brakes on development.

In the lead-up to the election, state Democrats sought to paint Donalds as a Big Tech ally. Campaign ads, social media memes and a statewide blitz of press conferences labeled him “Data Center Donalds.” Jolly, who made data center opposition a key pillar of his campaign, promised to institute a moratorium and said he’d be willing to outright ban hyperscale facilities. Donalds’ critics blasted his donor base, which included data center developers and AI companies. It wasn’t enough — Donalds eked past Jolly by less than 2 percentage points.

Some in the AI sector are celebrating. Leading the Future, a pro-AI super political action committee that spent more than $5 million in support of Donalds, congratulated him on winning the election in a statement to POLITICO.

"[Donalds] recognizes that states have an important role to play in creating an environment where businesses can thrive and workers can prepare for the opportunities ahead,” Leading the Future co-strategist Zac Moffatt said. “We look forward to working with Governor-Elect Donalds to advance policies that support innovation and expand economic opportunity across Florida.”

Midterm results in other states have caused “real concern” for the industry, said Josh Taves of the Post Oak Group, a Texas-based investment bank that advises on AI and data centers. While a governor’s authority over existing projects is somewhat limited, new data center developments are vulnerable to added permitting requirements or construction moratoriums. However, it’s unlikely the industry would cut bait on states like Texas even with added restrictions, he added.

“It does not, in my opinion, lead to mass exodus,” Taves said. “It's a long, expensive process.”

And while Donalds doesn’t plan to hit pause like other newly elected governors, the Sunshine State isn’t a perfect host.

The state is sizzlingly hot, and routinely pummeled by hurricanes that cause flooding and widespread power outages. Utility companies are still hashing out data center tariffs with regulators. Plus, Floridians are just as rankled by data centers as the rest of the nation. Every hyperscale proposal has been met with grassroots opposition, and more than a dozen cities and counties have already implemented a patchwork of local moratoriums or outright bans.

And while Donalds entered the campaign trail saying Florida should lead on data center development, he shifted his public statements as backlash grew to focus on how he would regulate the industry. He’s promised to keep existing data center guardrails on the books, and has said he’d support additional restrictions on how close the facilities can be built near residential areas and the industry’s use of NDAs. The midterm results — which only confirmed voters’ rejection of data centers and Big Tech — give Donalds “incentives to continue” on that path, Steinhauser said.

“I think it's actually likely that Byron Donalds doesn’t give the companies what they want on data centers,” he said.

A spokesperson for Donalds did not respond to a request for comment.

The governor-elect won’t be the only target of the industry’s lobbying in Florida: State lawmakers are likely to revisit the AI “bill of rights” during the next lawmaking session. Tech companies like Meta, Anthropic and Google spent aggressively this election cycle on state lawmakers.

And under a new state law the Legislature passed this year, local governments have authority over land regulation as it relates to data centers. The industry is expected to lobby at all levels of Florida’s government, engaging state lawmakers in Tallahassee as well as local governments considering data center proposals.

The Florida Digital Infrastructure and Security Alliance, a nonpartisan coalition supporting data center development, is talking on the ground with cities and counties, according to Executive Director Imran Siddiqui. The group is also paying close attention to policies coming from Tallahassee, he added.

“It's good that we're going to have a governor in place, seemingly that's open to responsible digital build-out from the start,” Siddiqui said. “But there's going to need to be a continued education and engagement effort because at the end of the day, home rule means something in Florida, and our elected officials are going to be the ones on the ground making these decisions, so we’re here to support as much as we can.”

Yet Florida’s data center opponents are still looking for state lawmakers to take a harder line on the facilities. Susannah Randolph, the Sierra Club’s Florida Chapter director, said the organization is still pushing for a statewide moratorium, and is doubtful of the industry’s promises that the facilities can be built without harming the environment or local communities.

It also “remains to be seen” whether Donalds follows through on data center campaign pledges such as a commitment to backing local control, Randolph added.

“I really am hopeful that our legislators … and that Governor-elect Donalds sees the writing on the wall,” she said. “But we've been through so many legislative sessions where sometimes that script gets flipped and the money wins the day.”