Data centers emerge as growing wedge issue in midterm races

The tech industry’s expansion of data centers is emerging as a wedge issue in the midterms, as candidates weigh economic opportunity against the associated strain on voters’ utility bills. In the Michigan governor’s race, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D), whose husband is a top executive at a company pressing for a new data center, wants regulations addressing related water usage and energy costs. Other candidates like Republican Tom Leonard are going even further, pushing for a temporary mortarium on building…