Residents of Defiance, Ohio, are pushing back against the expansion of data centers, even though no company has announced plans to build one in the city.
The city of about 17,000 people sits among soybean fields in northwestern Ohio. However, concerns about possible future development have already sparked a local campaign. After residents learned that the county’s economic development group had received inquiries from technology companies, activists spent months collecting signatures for a November 3 ballot measure.
The proposal would prohibit all but the smallest data centers. Meanwhile, city officials have imposed a six-month moratorium on new project approvals.
Data Center Debate Becomes Election Issue
The dispute in Defiance reflects a much wider backlash against data centers across Ohio and other parts of the United States.
Residents have raised concerns about farmland, electricity demand and water consumption. The debate intensified after state tax records showed Ohio had given up more than $2 billion in sales-tax revenue through data-center incentives during 2024 and 2025.
Companies including Amazon and Meta have benefited from the incentives.
An August 31 poll by Bowling Green State University found that 71% of Ohio residents supported a temporary pause on new data center construction.
“Most people feel preyed upon by big business,” said Becca Rupp, founder of Citizens for Responsible Development-Defiance.
The issue has also created an opportunity for Democrats in rural parts of the Midwest. Democrats have struggled in many of these areas during Donald Trump’s presidency. Ohio is also home to several competitive races that could influence control of Congress.
Kaptur Attacks Data Center Tax Breaks
Democratic US Representative Marcy Kaptur is facing a difficult reelection campaign in a redrawn district that now includes Defiance and other conservative rural communities.
Kaptur has made data centers a major part of her campaign. Her television advertisements accuse Republican challenger Derek Merrin of supporting tax incentives for the industry.
Kaptur has also linked data centers to higher utility bills and concerns about corporate influence.
“Politicians are letting these companies pass the costs of their enormous energy and utility demands onto Ohio ratepayers,” she said, while also criticizing the billions of dollars in tax incentives.
FirstEnergy data cited in the campaign dispute showed residential electricity bills in Defiance rose between 10% and 15% in June compared with a year earlier.
Merrin did not respond to requests for comment. However, he said in a Facebook post that Kaptur was blaming him for a data-center tax break enacted before he entered the Ohio legislature.
The debate has also entered Ohio’s closely watched Senate race. Republican incumbent Jon Husted is facing former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown.
Brown has repeatedly criticized Husted over AI infrastructure and tax incentives. His campaign has called Husted “data centers’ best friend.”
Husted’s campaign has rejected that criticism. It points to legislation he sponsored that would require data-center operators to pay for additional electricity generation and transmission infrastructure.
Activists Push for Tougher Rules
The controversy over tax subsidies has helped turn individual zoning disputes into a broader statewide campaign.
Lyn Cox of Conserve Ohio said the disclosure of the subsidy figures was a major turning point. She said candidates from both parties have since been forced to address data-center development.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has proposed an “Ohioans First” plan. It would remove local property-tax abatements for data centers and direct some revenue toward homeowner rebates.
His proposal would also require developers to cover additional residential electricity costs.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton has proposed restrictions on tax incentives. She also supports requiring developers to pay for power infrastructure and meeting union labor standards.
Both candidates have called for limits on construction involving productive farmland.
However, activists remain cautious about campaign promises.
“They’re just words,” Cox said. She argued that politicians are responding because data centers have become an important election issue.
Conserve Ohio is also pursuing a proposed 2027 state constitutional amendment. The group wants to block data centers that use more than 25 megawatts of power. It is also supporting similar local ballot initiatives.
Tech Companies Defend Economic Impact
Technology companies involved in the AI boom have defended their investments in Ohio.
Amazon says it has invested nearly $40 billion in the state since 2015. Meta says its Ohio investments have exceeded $2.3 billion since 2018.
Both companies argue that their facilities create jobs, generate tax revenue and contribute to local economic development.
For residents such as Rupp, however, the dispute represents something larger than the future of data centers.
The debate has become a test of how local and state officials balance technology investment with concerns about electricity costs, farmland, water use and public resources.
As Ohio heads toward a closely watched election season, data centers are emerging as an increasingly visible issue in communities that once viewed technology investment mainly as an economic opportunity.
