{"id":305096,"date":"2026-10-12T14:24:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T14:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/305096\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T14:24:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T14:24:15","slug":"election-2026-the-bipartisan-politics-of-data-center-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/305096\/","title":{"rendered":"Election 2026: The bipartisan politics of data center opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sugarloaf Twp. resident John Zola doesn\u2019t remember a single issue in his lifetime that\u2019s galvanized and united people from across the political spectrum as much as opposition to hyperscale data center development has in his bucolic Luzerne County community and across Northeast Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pulse of the people is very simple,\u201d said Zola, 63, a retired businessman and conservative Republican whose land is being targeted via eminent domain for a high-voltage power line that would supply proposed data centers. \u201cThey are completely opposed to these hyperscale data centers being put inside of their communities very close to where they live, and anyone, any politician, that is remotely associated with being pro-data center, they\u2019re not voting for them. They don\u2019t care if they\u2019re Democrat or Republican, they\u2019re not voting for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

His was a common sentiment among prospective voters who identified data center development as a major issue coloring politics during this highly consequential midterm election cycle. And it\u2019s one that\u2019s unifying unusual political allies often quick to accuse politicians, regardless of party, of being late to the game or failing to meet the moment on the data center front.<\/p>\n

\"JohnJohn Zola, of Alliance to Stop the Line, talks about PPL\u2019s proposed 500 kilovolt power line project and data centers during a town hall hosted by state Rep. Jamie Walsh R-117 on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026 at the Sugarloaf Fire Company. (John Haeger \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

A pair of federal House races are playing out against that backdrop in local counties: the toss-up race in the 8th Congressional District between incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan and Democratic Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, and the less-competitive race in the Republican-heavy 9th Congressional District between incumbent GOP U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser and Democratic challenger Rachel Wallace.<\/p>\n

Political disquiet over data centers at the grassroots level is often pervasive in both districts, where proposals to construct massive data center campuses, power plants and related infrastructure have generated fierce backlash from opponents racked with anxieties about the industry\u2019s potential impact on their environment, utility bills, health and happiness. Practical concerns about land use, pollution and quality of life abound, sometimes complementing more philosophical objections to and misgivings about the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence and the big-money interests behind it.<\/p>\n

All of the above is making the electoral landscape precarious for politicians navigating the data center issue in the face of bipartisan opposition. An NPR\/PBS News\/Marist Poll released last month<\/a> shows 82% of Democrats, 72% of independents and 44% of Republicans either oppose or strongly oppose the construction of a data center in their community. The same poll found 43% of national registered voters strongly oppose such construction where they live, compared to just 7% who strongly favor it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally think, without naming seats, I think there are going to be some seats lost in this upcoming election, and the main reason is data centers,\u201d said Zola, the founder and president of the nonprofit grassroots Alliance to Stop the Line fighting PPL Electric Utilities\u2019 proposed 500 kilovolt line that would cut through the townships of Nescopeck, Black Creek, Sugarloaf and Hazle. \u201cThe politicians just have not listened to the people. They\u2019ve heard them, I\u2019m quite sure of it. There would be no choice but to hear all the outcry with this, but no significant action was taken.\u201d<\/p>\n

Voter skepticism<\/p>\n

Several data center critics accused Republican and Democratic politicians alike of paying lip service to the opposition. Some said they haven\u2019t been very impressed with and question the sincerity of candidates when it comes to data centers, even if they plan to vote for a particular candidate for other reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think both here locally and what I\u2019m seeing nationally is that (data center opposition) is one of the few bipartisan unifying issues, and is one of the defining issues of this election,\u201d Archbald Democrat Ann Beynon, 44, said immediately before joining other data center opponents at a recent public hearing<\/a> on the 400-megawatt Essential Energy LLC natural gas power plant proposed in the borough. \u201cUnfortunately it feels like neither party is really helping, at least to a degree that we would like, so there\u2019s no clear winner when it comes to candidates in a lot of people\u2019s minds, which is frustrating because this is a time when we need people to help us who are in power. And I think there\u2019s a lot of confusion about who are the good candidates \u2014 of course they\u2019re all saying they\u2019re good \u2014 but if you know anything about what\u2019s been happening some of it seems kind of shallow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA sign reading \u201cNo Power Generation\u201d is seen at an Essential Energy hearing at Valley View High School on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)<\/p>\n

Beynon said she\u2019s leaning toward Cognetti in the 8th District race, \u201cmainly for reasons other than data centers,\u201d but did credit the Scranton mayor for showing up at multiple data center public hearings in Archbald, ground zero for the industry in Lackawanna County.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has shown at least some interest in coming here,\u201d Beynon said. \u201c(Bresnahan) uses us in his commercial, but I don\u2019t think he really knows what\u2019s going on here.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, she\u2019s considering writing in Chester County Democratic state Sen. Katie Muth\u2019s name for governor, as opposed to voting for incumbent Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, and hasn\u2019t yet decided how she\u2019ll vote in the 40th state Senate District race between incumbent Republican state Sen. Rosemary Brown and Democratic challenger Brian Wrightson.<\/p>\n

While Shapiro\u2019s posture toward data centers has shifted dramatically \u2014 he issued an executive order in August imposing strict requirements on data center development \u2014 many continue to hold his early support for the industry against him.<\/p>\n

Muth, who introduced a bill<\/a> that Brown co-sponsored calling for a three-year statewide moratorium on data center development, is one of several politicians local data center opponents praised in recent interviews. Others include Democratic Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan and Republican state Rep. Jamie Walsh, who seeks reelection in the 117th state House District against Democratic challenger Jeremy Benscoter.<\/p>\n

Sugarloaf Twp. resident Erika Cook, 42, an ally of Zola\u2019s and fellow leader of the Alliance to Stop the Line who\u2019s also fighting an eminent domain application to accommodate that project, credited both Muth, her write-in choice for governor, and Walsh, her state representative, with \u201cdoing fantastic\u201d on the data center front. She agreed the issue will be a big driver this election cycle, but said there are otherwise few politicians she trusts on the subject.<\/p>\n

\"ErikaErika Cook makes a brief statement during the beginning of during the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission hearing held at Penn State Hazleton on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.(John Haeger \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s very few that I actually feel comfortable with,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s frustrating, because anything higher up than your local townships, you can\u2019t get anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cook doesn\u2019t consider herself a \u201cparty-line person\u201d and still hasn\u2019t decided whom she\u2019ll support in the 9th District race between Meuser and Wallace, but plans to scrutinize both on data centers over the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m waiting until the last minute to really make my decision because things are changing so frequently,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s really important to wait and see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in the 8th District, Democrat John Mellow, 76, an Archbald resident and retired state Department of Environmental Protection licensed professional geologist, was still \u201cwaffling\u201d late last month on whether to support Cognetti or Bresnahan. Interviewed outside the same public hearing Beynon attended, Mellow credited Bresnahan\u2019s office with being very reachable and \u201ceasily accessible,\u201d but wasn\u2019t yet sold on either candidate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t quite believe all the PR that\u2019s being put out,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m skeptical of both of them. They may mean well. I\u2019m still kind of debating which one I\u2019d prefer on the data center issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Balls of fire\u2019<\/p>\n

Dunmore resident Aline Browning, 46, a member of the Stop Olyphant Data Centers movement in Lackawanna County, said she doesn\u2019t \u201cadhere to the two-party construct.\u201d While she traditionally voted for Democrats, members of both parties have disappointed her in recent years as she\u2019s worked to prove a cancer cluster exists<\/a> in the region from chemical exposures at the former Specialty Records\/WEA Manufacturing\/Cinram plant in Olyphant, where her father worked for decades before succumbing to lung cancer in 2023.<\/p>\n

With the exception of Gaughan and Muth, politicians have not impressed Browning when it comes to data centers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking for balls of fire who aren\u2019t afraid to stand up to this thing,\u201d said Browning, who doesn\u2019t see either Cognetti or Bresnahan as that. \u201cThe general public has no idea the scope of what is coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FounderFounder of Lackawanna Citizens\u2019 Overwatch Project Aline Browning holds up a sign during the Lackawanna County commissioners\u2019 meeting on Aug. 5. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ SCRANTON TIMES)<\/p>\n

But, after voting for Bresnahan two years ago, she\u2019s going to vote for Cognetti, describing it as a \u201cpunishment vote\u201d against Bresnahan over his stock trading controversy, Medicaid cuts included in last year\u2019s Republican megabill and other issues. It\u2019s one of several punishment votes Browning plans to dole out this cycle.<\/p>\n

She\u2019ll also write-in Muth\u2019s name for governor and vote for Republican Sharon Soltis Sparano in the 22nd state Senate District race, describing those as \u201cpunishment\u201d votes against Shapiro and incumbent Democratic state Sen. Marty Flynn over data centers.<\/p>\n

Browning, a gay woman, believes elected Democrats are generally better on social and equal-rights issues, but said the potential impacts of data center development on public health make it by far the most important political issue this cycle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had to throw it back to 1992 and scrap in the street for my liberties as a gay woman to keep everybody else safe and healthy, I\u2019ll do that,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is about everyone. Everyone is going to get sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Talking points\u2019<\/p>\n

Jenkins Twp. resident Dino Rodeghiero, a 51-year-old political independent, is worried about the potential impact of pollution tied to the data center industry, particularly on the local water supply. While smaller data centers might make sense on former strip mine or industrial sites under certain conditions, he\u2019s adamantly opposed to hyperscale projects in or near residential neighborhoods, which \u201cshould never be considered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rodeghiero also sees the pushback to data center development as bipartisan, driven by citizens from both sides of the political spectrum whose concern transcends traditional political divides. He\u2019s among those less than thrilled with his options in the 8th District race, describing Bresnahan and Cognetti as \u201cboth very poor on data centers\u201d while noting his belief that\u00a0\u201canything that they say (about data centers) is just talking points.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Rodeghiero also cited controlling illegal immigration as an important issue and supports voter ID policies backed by Republicans. He called Cognetti a \u201ccarpetbagger\u201d trying to use her position as mayor of Scranton as a steppingstone for higher office, among other criticisms, and is likely to vote for Bresnahan.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not how Leah Casner, a 70-year-old resident of the rural Wayne County village of Equinunk, plans to vote.<\/p>\n

Describing herself as \u201cvery, very left-wing,\u201d Casner, a registered Democrat and monthly humor columnist for The River Reporter, said she\u2019s \u201cashamed\u201d that Bresnahan is her congressman and is enthusiastic in her support for Cognetti for a plethora of reasons. But she also said both parties came out against data centers too late, noting she was disappointed with Cognetti in that regard and continues to be disappointed in Shapiro.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to admit, I was going to vote the same way I\u2019m going to vote now,\u201d Casner said when asked how the data center issue informed her vote. \u201cIt really hasn\u2019t affected it because now everybody seems to be on the side I\u2019ve been on all along, which is nice. Everybody is jumping on the anti-data center bandwagon, but I\u2019ve always been there. \u2026 I\u2019m not into big business. I do not like the tax benefits to the rich, particularly with data centers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Being present\u2019<\/p>\n

Among voters and the general public, not everyone wary of data center development is outright opposed to it.<\/p>\n

Republican Chris Melusky, 49, a resident of and elected auditor for Norwegian Twp. in Schuylkill County, does not consider himself \u201canti-data center,\u201d but said rapid changes in technology and exploding demand for computing capacity fueling the hyperscale data center push must be met with responsible decision-making.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look at it from an aspect of they have to be in the right location and they have to be operating under the right conditions,\u201d he said. \u201cSo when we talk about where should we place them, of course I oppose them next to communities direct to neighborhoods. I am for former industrial sites, brownfields (and) old industrial infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melusky acknowledged the jobs and tax revenues data centers can produce for local governments, but said responsible regulation must take into account the potential environmental, noise, light, stormwater and other impacts of massive campuses.<\/p>\n

He also agreed that data center concern is motivating voters this cycle and presenting challenges for incumbent politicians, and thinks that dynamic will benefit Wallace, at least in Schuylkill County, where she lives and has roots. Despite voting for Meuser and President Donald Trump in 2024, Melusky is throwing his support behind Wallace this time around, largely because he feels she\u2019s been more present in and attentive to Schuylkill County on data centers and other issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWallace is homegrown, Wallace is from this area, Wallace is going to take an interest in the community, and this particular area is very opposed to the data centers coming in,\u201d he said. \u201cMeuser \u2026 has utilized his local offices to make impacts to our community, but at the same time he shows a lack of being present with the people in our community, and I think that\u2019s what\u2019s striking a lot of people right now with this race. And a lot of people are shifting their weight towards Wallace, because they know she\u2019s homegrown.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether that\u2019s enough to make Wallace truly competitive in the sprawling district where Republicans maintain a voter registration advantage over Democrats of more than 157,000 remains to be seen, as does the ultimate impact of data center backlash on the midterm elections more broadly.<\/p>\n

Data center opposition is far from the only politically potent issue energizing voters and informing votes this cycle, but it may be the most bipartisan in this polarized period of American politics.<\/p>\n

James Bosha, 68, a Scranton Democrat and Cognetti supporter also quoted in a recent election-focused article on affordability challenges<\/a> coloring politics this cycle, said the public is \u201cdriving sentiment on this issue of data centers specifically (and) AI as a spill-out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd politicians can do one of two things,\u201d he said. \u201cThey can agree and try to show themselves as a champion of the anti-data center, skeptical-of-AI movement \u2014 that organic movement \u2014 or they can lose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Candidates on the issues<\/p>\n

We sent a questionnaire on data centers and energy infrastructure to candidates running in the Nov. 3 election in the 8th and 9th Congressional Districts. The candidates\u2019 responses appear below. Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser did not respond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sugarloaf Twp. resident John Zola doesn\u2019t remember a single issue in his lifetime that\u2019s galvanized and united people…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305097,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[2116,836,201,182,803,139,28,50,231,178,180,179,181],"class_list":["post-305096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-data-centers","tag-election","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-luzerne-county","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-politics","tag-schuylkill-county","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-stt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}