Data Center Backlash Puts Florida Governor's Race in Play

Byron Donalds has $148 million in campaign funds, much of it from the tech industry, yet a University of North Florida poll puts his Democratic opponent just two points behind him — within the 2.8 percent margin of error — in Florida's race for governor. The gap has narrowed in part because of an issue that rarely decides statewide races: data centers.

Bipartisan opposition to hyperscale facilities has been building across Florida for months. Sixty-eight percent of Floridians say they oppose the developments in their communities, a figure that has forced Donalds, the Republican nominee, to moderate his previously unambiguous welcome to the industry.

Why are Republicans turning against data centers?

Patti Zirhut, a lifelong Republican who voted for Donald Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024, is an organizer with No Data Center Hernando County. Her ballot this year, she says, is "all mixed up" — Republicans, independents, even a few Democrats. One decision is settled: "I will not vote for Byron Donalds. No way will I ever vote for him."

She is considering voting for Donalds' opponent, former Rep. David Jolly, a former Republican who left the party in 2018. Jolly argues that in Florida, opposition to data centers "is more intense among Republicans than it is among Democrats," because it reflects "the outsized influence and control of Big Tech and Big Data in a world where people are worried about surveillance, whether it's AI or development encroaching on their land and their freedom."

The two nominees hold starkly different positions. Jolly has visited Loudoun County, Virginia — known as Data Center Alley — and has promised a one-year moratorium on data center development. Donalds said in August that "there ain't no bans coming," though he has since softened that stance as polling showed the depth of public opposition.

What is Donalds' defense?

Donalds points to his running mate, state Sen. Bryan Ávila, who sponsored a bill requiring new data center projects to pay their share of water and electricity costs. He also argues the decision is not the governor's to make. "Governors don't issue building permits; local governments do," Donalds recently told CBS News. "So if a local community does not want a data center, then no data centers."

Jolly has responded with a nickname — "Data Center Donalds" — and a list of policy concerns: air and noise pollution, public health effects from on-site power plants, water use, and the pace of AI change that could leave today's facilities "functionally obsolete in the next 10 years."

Donalds' campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

How is the backlash playing out locally?

In deep-red Polk County, the group Watchdogs of Fort Meade is fighting a $2.6 billion hyperscale development. Its chair, Raul Alfonso, says both Donalds and Governor Ron DeSantis sent what he calls a "form letter" deferring to local officials. Jolly has not responded to the group either, though his moratorium pledge limits the damage.

Other politicians have engaged directly. James Fishback, the far-right Republican who took 10 percent of the primary vote, responded first. Bobby Williams, a pastor who won 4.1 percent, attended several events and has since endorsed Jolly. Angie Nixon, the Democratic Socialist running against Sen. Ashley Moody, held a town hall in Fort Meade.

"There are a lot of people that were deep-red individuals who voted party line all the way, who are looking at flopping over to somebody who will actually take the concerns of the citizens more seriously," Alfonso says.

Can Florida actually flip?

Donalds retains structural advantages. He has raised $148 million to Jolly's $22 million, and Florida now counts nearly 2 million more registered Republicans than Democrats. Republicans also lead in early voting. Donalds has additionally received $5 million from Leading the Future, a pro-AI super PAC whose funders include executives of OpenAI, Palantir and Andreessen Horowitz.

Polls consistently show the cost of living, not data centers, remains voters' top concern. Jolly frames the data center fight as a proxy for broader anxiety. "It's almost a physical metaphor for anxieties around, 'What is the future of work? What's the future of wages?'" he says, adding that deep-pocketed interests — "be it tech, data, utilities — are able to capture our politicians and decision-making."

If Jolly wins, he would be the first Democrat elected Florida governor in 28 years — and the result will test whether local land-use anger can outweigh money, registration totals and a national party's structural edge.