Wisconsin hates data centers. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the state’s Republican gubernatorial nominee, wants voters to think his Democratic opponent doesn’t.
Tiffany entered the general governor’s race this week by claiming in a series of social media posts that Democratic candidate David Crowley wants to subsidize artificial intelligence facilities — even as the House Republican avoids supporting an all-out ban, instead calling for modest reforms and ending state subsidies for tech corporations.
Crowley says he doesn’t back a full moratorium on building AI facilities, instead supporting guardrails on the centers that already exist in the state. But Tiffany’s opening argument reflects a political reality: While data center protests are popping up and disrupting campaigns across the country, there are few places where the issue is currently as salient as it is in Wisconsin.
How the race plays out could be a sign of Republicans’ ability to tap into growing national concerns about the spread of AI facilities and their use of natural resources — a position that up until recently has been dominated by Democrats, largely due to the White House’s emphasis on developing AI in the U.S.
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“I don’t believe him,” Kelly Gallaher, Racine Democratic Party chair, laughing while speaking about Tiffany’s promises to address the data center issue. “It was a politically expedient thing to say. … There’s nothing in his past that shows that he’s not amenable to influence from businesses or from the White House. So I just flat-out don’t believe him.”
It’s not surprising data centers have entered the general race so early, Gallaher said.
Developers have swarmed the state, including Microsoft’s recent investment of more than $7 billion in “the world’s most powerful AI data center” in Mount Pleasant, located in Gallaher’s Racine County.
Residents of the county she calls “Data Center Central” have voiced concerns about AI facilities for years — particularly after an infamous 2017 effort to build a Foxconn manufacturing plant there eventually failed, despite President Donald Trump’s heavy support at the time.
“We have seen this become a topic of conversation that really pre-exists this particular election,” Gallaher said. “It’s been building, and the candidates have been responsive to the talk on the ground, the temperature of the people who have really big concerns about them.”
On Friday, the Republican nominee posted a clip of Crowley speaking about an opportunity for the state to “become an AI and a data hub, not only for the entire country, but for the entire globe” before it flashes to Tiffany’s campaign logo.
In another shortened clip Tiffany posted on Thursday, Crowley says in an NBC interview that “data centers” are one way he differs from Francesca Hong, the progressive primary opponent he beat on Tuesday. Crowley at one point dropped out of the race before jumping back in nine days later, eventually beating Hong by roughly 4,000 votes.
The Republican’s campaign took the videos out of context, Crowley spokesperson Eddie Vale told NOTUS, chalking it up to “grasping at straws.” For instance, Tiffany’s NBC clip cuts out before Crowley finishes his thought: Hong supported a wide moratorium on the centers, while Crowley said he wants to not preempt economic development opportunities for communities.
“Tom Tiffany has not introduced any legislation to put any regulations on data centers across the country,” Crowley said in a statement Friday, blaming Wisconsin’s position on his Republican opponent and on Trump. “That is exactly what we need. That’s why we have a focus on creating state regulations to protect our communities across this country.”
The Tiffany campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Tiffany had cast data centers as a farmland issue earlier in his campaign, tying the loss of valuable agricultural estate to tech developers. But after Tiffany handily won his primary race with more than 95% of the vote, this week’s immediate pivot to cast his opponent as welcoming of data centers also foreshadows an upcoming tight race the Republican hadn’t fully anticipated.
The House Republican had likely expected to face Hong in the general election after her surge in polling weeks ahead of Tuesday’s primary. Now that he’s running against a more centrist opponent in Crowley, Republicans are scrambling for a new playbook.
While only 5% of Wisconsin voters chose data centers as their most important issue in a July 22 poll from Marquette University Law School, more than three-quarters of respondents said the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits in the same survey — an increase from 55% last October.
But candidates across the state have launched a slate of anti-data center ads anyway. Combined, Wisconsin gubernatorial campaigns this year spent more than $1.7 million on broadcast ads that mentioned or focused on data centers, according to ad-tracking service AdImpact — comprising around 10% of total ad spending ahead of the state’s primaries.
The spending was helmed by two pro-Crowley PACs that dropped roughly $1.6 million on ads mentioning data centers, including spots that promoted how Crowley would “stand up to Trump and crack down on AI data centers” once elected.
The issue also stretched to other races this cycle: Democratic House nominee Rebecca Cooke spent $229,000 on an ad against Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden, casting herself as a pro-moratorium candidate, while a handful of state legislative campaigns spent around $64,000 on broadcast ads about the centers.
Republicans like Tiffany opposing business development is a “new wrinkle” in state politics, said Charles Franklin, director of Marquette Law School Poll. While voters are most concerned about cost of living, some may connect data centers to electricity rates in wider affordability conversations, he said.
“Bottom line is, this will be the first campaign in which data centers will be an issue,” Franklin said in an email. “That will likely increase the salience. But if both candidates are calling for regulation and protecting consumers, it won’t be a sharp contrast between candidates.”
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