NEW YORK TIMES: Ohioans Reject ‘Face of Data Centers’ Jon Husted For Sending Utility Rates Soaring

NEW YORK TIMES: Ohioans Reject 'Face of Data Centers' Jon Husted For Sending Utility Rates Soaring

October 20, 2026

Because of Husted's efforts to cut deals to bring data centers to the state, Ohio saw the second largest utility rate increase in the country

COLUMBUS, OHIO - New reporting in the New York Times shows that Ohioans across the state are rejecting "face of data centers" Jon Husted for his record of sending utility rates soaring for Ohio families.

Husted led the charge to bring hundreds of data centers to Ohio while families got stuck with the bill. Instead of taking responsibility, Husted blamed Ohioans for data centers, telling listeners in a recent interview that "we are the problem."

See For Yourself:

New York Times: Republicans in Ohio Are Worried About Turnout. Here's What They're Doing About It.

• Back in the Youngstown area, Donovan O'Neil, a senior adviser in Ohio for Americans for Prosperity's political PAC, walked up to a house with an American flag hanging from its porch.
  
• Barb Delaney, 65, a part-time bookkeeper, answered. "Are you planning to vote?" Mr. O'Neil asked.
  
• "Oh hell yes," said Ms. Delaney, who was wearing a Detroit Lions T-shirt. "For Sherrod."
• But Ms. Delaney was far more incensed this year about data centers, and she blamed Mr. Husted. Because of a nearby development, she said, her energy bill, which includes heat for her pool, had surged from $200 a month to almost $500 - by far the highest it had been in the 28 years she had lived in her current home.
  
• "My electric bill is skyrocketing," she said. "Nobody wants data centers around."
• Then, referring to Mr. Husted, she added: "I will not vote for that man. I would never."
  
• Mr. O'Neil listened, and after a few more attempts to engage her, he continued down the block.

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