Derek Merrin Refuses to Comment After Long Record of Supporting Data Center Tax Breaks

Derek Merrin Refuses to Comment After Long Record of Supporting Data Center Tax Breaks

August 11, 2026

COLUMBUS, OH - The contrast between the candidates for Ohio's 9th Congressional District could not be more clear as Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur demands that data centers be held accountable as they drain power resources and cause utility bills to skyrocket, while Republican Derek Merrin has voted in the statehouse to give data centers massive tax breaks. Now Merrin is refusing to comment when asked about his positions.

"While Ohioans continue to voice their concern about how data centers are hurting communities and forcing families to foot the bill for skyrocketing utility costs, Derek Merrin's refusal to comment when asked about data centers is speaking volumes," said Ohio Democratic Party Communications Director Marisa Nahem. "Ohioans want a leader who will lower their costs and hold data centers accountable - with his long record of voting for tax breaks for data centers and accepting donations from the very utility companies that are jacking up Ohioans' energy bills, Derek Merrin is showing every day why Ohioans need Marcy Kaptur fighting for them in Congress."

This is not the first time that Derek Merrin has refused to comment on data centers, after he voted in the statehouse to give data centers tax breaks. Merrin has also received campaign donations from AEP and other utility special interest groups.

Read more about the contrast between Marcy Kaptur's resolve to make data centers pay their fair share and Derek Merrin's refusal to comment:

Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio's 9th Congressional district race: The candidates' records on data centers

• The race for Ohio's 9th U.S. Congressional district is one of the state's most closely contested, and the candidates have contrasting records and positions when it comes to data center development.
• Derek Merrin, the Republican nominee and former state representative who is facing long-time Ohio Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur in the November election, voted for Ohio's data center tax breaks when he was an Ohio state representative in 2017. Kaptur has spoken out against data centers for draining power and water from local communities, saying the companies should pay for that, not the citizens.
• Merrin, who served four terms as an Ohio state representative for the Toledo district from 2016 to 2024, did not respond to the Ohio Capital Journal's questions for this story.
• Merrin received a $1,000 political donation from the American Electric Power Ohio Committee for Responsible Government in 2021. AEP had received more than $6 million in data center tax breaks in Ohio as of September 2024, according to Policy Matters Ohio.
• Merrin received a $500 political donation from Windstream Holdings' PAC in 2022. That same year, Windstream Holdings listed eight "key data center locations" in Ohio.
• Kaptur raised concerns over data centers at the end of last year.
• "How much more will our citizens be forced to pay for power and water?" Kaptur asked, speaking on the U.S. House floor.
• "They have a right to know. Will our building trades be true partners in economic growth or just temporary labor while facing higher utility bills at home? And how many permanent jobs will these largely opaque facilities actually provide? … The American people deserve to know how AI data centers will affect their communities."

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