The Data Center And Ai Donors Powering Donalds’ Bid For Florida Governor

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Tech industry players have poured millions of dollars into Rep. Byron Donalds’ campaign for Florida governor — and the money keeps flowing even as the Trump-endorsed GOP front-runner has seemingly shifted his stance on regulating the technologies’ presence in Florida.

Since Donalds launched his campaign in February 2025, he’s received dozens of contributions from artificial intelligence groups and donors as well as from multiple companies seeking to build hyperscale data centers in Florida. The donations, some of which have not been previously reported, offer a look into whom the sector is trying to influence as hyperscale data centers and the booming growth of AI become rising campaign issues for both Republican and Democratic voters.

Ahead of next month’s primaries, Donalds holds a sizable polling and fundraising lead over his GOP opponents and has raised more than $90 million for his campaign. He’s also been endorsed by President Donald Trump, who said in a Truth Social post Wednesday that data center companies were being sought in Florida and called them “Money Machines.”

At least four developers that are actively pursuing or had previously proposed data centers in the Sunshine State have offered five- and six-figure donations to Donalds’ political action committee. A host of other data center developers and major industry players outside of Florida have also contributed, while two PACs battling over AI regulation have both bought advertisements for his campaign. Meanwhile, Donalds continues to hold stock in tech companies that are scaling up their data center operations nationwide.

In response to POLITICO’s reporting, Donalds’ campaign highlighted his introduction this week of the Protecting Ratepayers Act “to ensure that private developers, rather than American taxpayers, bear the investment costs of data center developments that advance our country's technological dominance.”

“Innovation shouldn't come at the expense of hardworking Americans,” Donalds said on social media while introducing the legislation. “Our aging grid cannot meet the increasing power demands of data centers.”

Florida data center donors

As public opposition to some of Florida’s largest data center proposals heats up, the developers behind them have financially backed Donalds’ PAC, Friends of Byron Donalds. That support includes a $100,000 contribution from Nelson Ferreira, the founder of several construction and energy companies who was the developer behind a previous data center proposal in the rural village of Indiantown. Ferreira Construction, of which Ferreira is the CEO, also contributed $400,000 last month.

Ferreira is the registered manager of Silver Fox 606 LLC, a company that sought to build a 2.2 million square-foot data center in Indiantown before withdrawing the proposal in April, according to TC Palm. Neither Ferreira nor his construction company responded to a request for comment.

Donalds has also received $100,000 from Palm Beach Aggregates and $250,000 from Tennessee-based Phillips Infrastructure Corp., two companies that are pursuing a data center known as Project Tango through another company, PBA Holdings. Enrique Tomeu, the president of PBA Holdings, also contributed $25,000.

Fort Meade LLC, which is trying to build a data center in Polk County, has also contributed $10,000 to Donalds’ PAC.

Both projects have been battered by opposition from local residents over their potential electricity use, water needs and noise pollution, among other concerns. The Palm Beach County Commission voted Wednesday to reject Project Tango, a 600-megawatt data center that would have been constructed 2,000 feet from a nearby neighborhood.

Palm Beach Aggregates and Phillips did not respond to a phone call requesting comment, nor did Stonebridge, a Maryland-based company associated with Fort Meade LLC.

Donalds has additionally drawn in at least $750,000 from more than a dozen companies or linked individuals that have built data centers in other states or countries, work in the industry or are investing in their development.

Voters statewide have soured on data centers, though the issue has yet to be seriously tested in a major Florida election. According to a new poll released Monday from the University of North Florida, only 28 percent of Floridians said they would support building an AI data center in their local area, with 68 percent saying they would oppose it.

DeSantis, whose term is up this year, has been a vocal critic of data centers, publicly questioning the Fort Meade proposal while championing a new law during this lawmaking session that would further regulate the facilities.

Donalds has taken a different approach. He’s previously said that Florida should lead with data centers to avoid other Democratic-led states or foreign countries housing the state’s data, but has advocated for citizen protections related to their construction and operation.

Donalds’ GOP political opponents have attacked his public statements regarding data centers and AI, with campaign videos and X memes labeling him “data center Donalds.” Several of his opponents have pledged to pursue stricter regulations like a statewide AI data center moratorium.

In Citrus County, where another large data center proposal was recently withdrawn after widespread community opposition, data centers have not yet become a problem for the county Republican Party, according to chair George Gasparini. Donalds’ stance on data centers hasn’t sown mistrust among local Republicans, he added, but, “You just hope that his campaign ads are truthful.”

“Any elected official can say on a Monday, ‘I’m going to vote this way,’ and on Tuesday say, ‘I changed my mind last night,’” he said. “We are a free country. I trust him very much.”

Battling PACs buy in

Since Donalds launched his campaign, he’s raked in millions from pro-business PACs, including the Associated Industries of Florida, which has contributed more than $2 million to Donalds’ political committee through several linked PACs. Since last summer, Google has given $250,000 to AIF, while Amazon has contributed $20,000. Phillips, one of the companies associated with the Project Tango data center, has contributed $556,000 to AIF since September.

Donalds has also received support from two clashing AI-related PACs, a conflict heating up as the midterms approach. One, Leading the Future, is a pro-AI super PAC backed by OpenAI President Greg Brockman and Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

Campaign finance records show that Leading the Future has contributed $3 million so far to American Mission Florida, another PAC that has purchased ads for the Donalds campaign.

Three general partners at Andreessen Horowitz, including founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, have contributed at least $36,000 total to Donalds’ federal political committees.

The donations to Donalds were made in February 2025, after he had already won reelection to the House and less than one week before he formally announced his campaign for Florida governor. Andreessen Horowitz, which is the biggest single donor this election cycle so far, did not respond to a request for comment.

“Byron Donalds will make an exceptional governor of Florida, and we’re proud to help carry that message to voters across the state,” a spokesperson for Leading the Future said in a statement. “We need smart, responsible AI policy that will unlock the economic benefits that can power Florida's future and protect children and communities."

Yet another super PAC on the opposite side of the AI fight has also bought advertisements for Donalds. Public First, which has the backing of Anthropic’s CEO, has spent more than $1 million on a broadcast ad for Donalds. The advertisement, which began airing this month, criticizes the federal government’s policies on AI and says that Donalds “agrees” with state-level regulation.

“We're grateful to Rep. Donalds for making crystal clear that he's against the federal preemption of state AI laws, which is a top priority for Leading the Future’s deregulatory campaign,” a spokesperson for Public First said in a statement.

As the anti-data center movement gains traction, Donalds has appeared to publicly shift his attitude on data centers and artificial intelligence. He has maintained that Florida should not close itself off to data center development, but has begun airing new advertisements in recent weeks with promises to protect citizens and the environment from the facilities.

“Six months ago, he was sounding more like the industry, and now I think he sounds more like us,” said Brendan Steinhauser, the CEO of the Alliance for Secure AI. “So I’m actually encouraged by that movement, and I think it’s a direct reflection of public opinion in Florida and around the country.”

AI, data center stock trades

Outside of his campaign, Donalds also holds thousands of dollars in investments for companies that are seeking to expand data center development nationwide.

According to a recent financial disclosure, as of Dec. 31, Donalds held more than $5,000 of stock in Amazon and $8,500 in Meta, two of the nation’s top data center operators. He also held about $13,000 of stock in Nvidia, a major supplier of data center infrastructure.

Previous financial disclosures also show that Donalds and his wife, Erika, bought and sold between $1,000 and $15,000 each of stock in fintech company Robinhood during March 2025. Within just over one month of the pair selling that stock, the company made two donations totaling $200,000 to the Friends of Byron Donalds PAC.

Baiju Bhatt, the co-founder and current member of the company’s board of directors, also contributed $50,000. Bhatt has recently launched a new startup, Cowboy Space Corporation, that aims to launch data centers into Earth’s orbit. Cowboy Space Corporation did not respond to a request for comment on Bhatt’s contribution.

"Florida is an important market for Robinhood, with multiple offices representing hundreds of employees and millions of customers,” a Robinhood spokesperson said in a statement. “We have long engaged with policymakers on both sides of the aisle, including Representative Donalds, and remain focused on preserving and expanding access to the financial markets."

While in Congress, Donalds has drawn fire for his stock tradings, with his GOP opponents accusing him of making money off of being in office. The Donalds campaign did not respond to a question about whether his holdings in Amazon, Meta and Nvidia are a conflict of interest.

Even if Donalds is receiving plenty of cash from the industry, Steinhauser said, overall public opinion surrounding AI and data centers may carry more weight. Disregarding the will of voters on tech regulations would be “a political miscalculation,” he added.

“All the money in the world is not going to shift public opinion very much on this,” he said.