Brown's Data Center Attack Ad Faces Scrutiny Over Google Contributions

A campaign ad from former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, targeting Republican Sen. Jon Husted over Ohio's expanding data center industry, has drawn criticism due to the campaign's past acceptance of contributions from Google's corporate PAC and lobbyists.

The ad, which began running September 4, features an Ohioan attributing higher electric bills to Husted's support for data centers, including a facility owned by Google in Lancaster, Ohio. However, campaign finance records reveal that Google's corporate PAC contributed $20,000 to Brown over his political career. Additionally, individuals lobbying for Google, whose firms have addressed issues like permitting, grid reliability, and energy affordability, have donated thousands to Brown's campaigns.

Among the donors cited are Lisa Kountoupes, who made a $3,500 contribution in March, and Michael D. Smith, who has donated a total of $10,200 to Brown since 2017. Kountoupes’s firm was hired by Google to lobby on permitting reform related to data center needs, while Smith's firm lobbied on issues concerning grid reliability and energy affordability for the company. Brown's campaign stated that Husted "led the charge" for data center expansion in Ohio and that residents, not Husted or "his billionaire friends," should decide on their construction. The campaign did not directly address the past contributions from Google. Republican strategists have characterized Brown's stance as contradictory, questioning the acceptance of Google's political funding while criticizing the company's investments.

This is not the first instance of Brown's campaign facing questions about conflicting positions. In 2015, Brown publicly praised the construction of an Amazon data center in central Ohio. Despite this past support, he has become a vocal critic of the growth of data centers in the state, an issue that has become prominent in Ohio politics. The expansion of these facilities is also a focus for President Donald Trump, who has warned that communities opposing them could be left behind economically.

In response to the criticism, a spokesperson for Husted's campaign stated that Brown is resorting to falsehoods and that Senate Democrats blocked bipartisan legislation championed by Husted, which would require data center companies to cover their energy costs. The spokesperson asserted that Brown and his allies would rather engage in political maneuvering than support a solution that could prevent higher electric bills for Ohio families.

Brown, who is seeking to return to the U.S. Senate in the race against Husted, previously served as a U.S. Senator from 2006 until losing his reelection bid in 2024 to Sen. Bernie Moreno. The race is considered a critical contest for control of the Senate majority.