These Midterm Races Will Decide Data Centers’ Political Fate

本文为原文前 6,000 字符的节选翻译，完整内容请查看原文。

These Midterm Races Will Decide Data Centers’ Political Fate

欢迎回到“权力游戏”（Power Play）！每周，资深撰稿人莫莉·塔夫特（Molly Taft）都会探讨本届中期选举中最重要的问题：数据中心。如果您对本专栏有任何疑问或想法，欢迎发送电子邮件至 [email protected]，或通过 Signal 安全联系：mollytaft.76。

From surveillance and DOGE to Big Tech money and religious extremism, the midterms have never been more WIRED. Data centers are no exception: The public has rapidly turned on them since the beginning of the year.

从监控和“政府效率部”（DOGE）到大型科技公司的资金和宗教极端主义，本届中期选举从未像现在这样充满“连线”（WIRED）色彩。数据中心也不例外：自今年年初以来，公众对它们的态度已迅速转变。

The opposition is bipartisan, with many Republicans making a rare break from President Donald Trump. Candidates on both sides of the aisle are trying to attack their opponents for being pro–data center (or not anti–data center enough). I’ve spotted at least five candidates who have been given the derogatory “Data Center [Name]” moniker by their opponents, in an attempt to highlight their connections to the industry. (That includes two guys named Derek/Derrick getting this treatment.)

这种反对声音跨越了党派界限，许多共和党人罕见地与唐纳德·特朗普总统的立场保持距离。两党候选人都试图攻击对手支持数据中心（或反数据中心力度不够）。我至少发现了五位候选人被对手冠以贬义的“数据中心[姓名]”绰号，以此来突显他们与该行业的联系。（其中包括两名分别叫德里克/德里克的人受到了这种待遇。）

While polling shows that pocketbook issues are likely to be top of voters’ minds, data centers are a potent-enough issue that they could swing tight races—and ultimately tip the balance of power in Congress. Here are some of the races WIRED is keeping an eye on as we approach November 3.

虽然民调显示选民最关心的可能是钱袋子问题，但数据中心是一个足够有力的问题，足以左右选情胶着的竞选，并最终改变国会的权力平衡。随着11月3日的临近，以下是《连线》杂志密切关注的一些选战。

Senate

参议院

The National Republican Senatorial Committee issued a memo in August warning that Democrat Sherrod Brown, running for Senate in Ohio, was hitting his opponent, Senator Jon Husted, so hard on data centers that it could tip the outcome of the race, calling it “a sleeper issue for the entire election cycle.” Brown has called Husted “the face of data centers in Ohio,” running ads that blame Husted for welcoming data centers to the state and driving energy bills up.

全国共和党参议院委员会在8月发布的一份备忘录中警告称，竞选俄亥俄州参议员的民主党人谢罗德·布朗（Sherrod Brown）在数据中心问题上对对手乔恩·赫斯特（Jon Husted）参议员的攻击非常猛烈，这可能会改变竞选结果，并称其为“整个选举周期中被忽视的议题”。布朗称赫斯特为“俄亥俄州数据中心的代言人”，并投放广告指责赫斯特欢迎数据中心进入该州，导致能源账单上涨。

Senate Democrats have taken up Brown’s cause, torpedoing a bill sponsored by Husted and modeled after the White House’s ratepayer protection pledge, with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling the bill “toothless.”

参议院民主党人支持布朗的立场，否决了由赫斯特发起的一项法案。该法案仿照白宫的纳税人保护承诺，但少数党领袖查克·舒默（Chuck Schumer）称该法案“毫无牙齿”。

Data centers have also seeped into many other toss-up Senate races, including in Michigan, Iowa, and Texas. But the Ohio race is still the top one to watch here.

数据中心问题也渗透到了密歇根州、爱荷华州和德克萨斯州等地的许多其他胜负难料的参议院选战中。但俄亥俄州的选战仍然是目前最值得关注的焦点。

House

众议院

All 435 seats in the House are up for grabs, and data centers have become flash points in dozens of races across the country. Among races labeled toss-ups by the Cook Political Report, I found numerous examples of candidates running data-center-related ads:

众议院全部435个席位都在改选，数据中心已成为全国数十场选战中的冲突点。在《库克政治报告》（Cook Political Report）列为胜负难料的选区中，我发现了许多候选人投放数据中心相关广告的例子：

In Michigan’s 7th district, Will Lawrence used local opposition to data centers to help win a tough Democratic primary. Lawrence is now facing off against Republican Tom Barrett and has aired several data-center-related ads, both attacking Barrett and advertising Lawrence’s promise to “stand up to corporate power.”

在密歇根州第7选区，威尔·劳伦斯（Will Lawrence）利用当地对数据中心的反对情绪，赢得了艰难的民主党初选。劳伦斯目前正与共和党人汤姆·巴雷特（Tom Barrett）对决，并播出了几则与数据中心相关的广告，既攻击巴雷特，也宣传劳伦斯“对抗企业权力”的承诺。

In Pennsylvania’s 8th district, Republican incumbent Rob Bresnahan has run ads promising to be tough on the industry—despite holding data-center-related stocks and a previously friendly stance. His Democratic challenger, Paige Cognetti, has also run ads attacking the industry.

在宾夕法尼亚州第8选区，共和党现任议员罗布·布雷斯纳汉（Rob Bresnahan）投放广告承诺对该行业采取强硬态度——尽管他持有数据中心相关股票，且此前立场友好。他的民主党挑战者佩奇·科格内蒂（Paige Cognetti）也投放了攻击该行业的广告。

In Ohio’s 9th, Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur has run ads railing against what she says is incumbent Derek Merrin’s history of giving tax breaks to data centers. (The ads call him “Data Center Derek.”) Merrin claims that Kaptur is misrepresenting his vote on a broader bill.

在俄亥俄州第9选区，民主党现任议员玛西·卡普图尔（Marcy Kaptur）投放广告，抨击她所称的现任议员德里克·梅里恩（Derek Merrin）过去为数据中心提供税收减免的历史。（广告称他为“数据中心德里克”。）梅里恩则声称卡普图尔歪曲了他对一项更广泛法案的投票。

In Wisconsin’s 3rd district, Democrat Rebecca Cooke has aired attack ads against incumbent Derrick van Orden’s history of taking contributions from data center developers, dubbing him “DC Derrick.” (Sound familiar?) Van Orden has also shot back by highlighting Cooke’s ties to the tech industry, claiming she is “responsible for covering up pristine Wisconsin farmland” with data centers.

在威斯康星州第3选区，民主党人丽贝卡·库克（Rebecca Cooke）播出了攻击现任议员德里克·范·奥登（Derrick van Orden）的广告，指责他有接受数据中心开发商捐款的历史，并称他为“DC德里克”。（听起来耳熟吗？）范·奥登也进行了反击，强调库克与科技行业的联系，声称她“负责用数据中心覆盖威斯康星州原始农田”。

In New York’s 17th district, incumbent Republican Mike Lawler has aired an ad slamming Democratic opponent Cait Conley’s past statements that the Hudson Valley “needs” data centers.

在纽约州第17选区，共和党现任议员迈克·劳勒（Mike Lawler）播出了一则广告，抨击民主党对手凯特·康利（Cait Conley）过去关于哈德逊河谷“需要”数据中心的言论。

Governor

州长

At least 20 candidates in the 36 gubernatorial races have promised to enact some kind of data center moratorium if elected, according to research from Multistate. The only true hyperscale moratorium in place in the US right now was signed in July by New York governor Kathy Hochul, who holds a comfortable lead ahead of challenger Bruce Blakeman (who supports data center development).

根据Multistate的研究，在36场州长竞选中，至少有20名候选人承诺如果当选，将颁布某种形式的数据中心暂停令。目前美国唯一真正实施的超大规模数据中心暂停令是由纽约州州长凯西·霍楚尔（Kathy Hochul）于7月签署的，她在民调中领先挑战者布鲁斯·布莱克曼（Bruce Blakeman，他支持数据中心开发）。

Candidates without much daylight between them have still tried to gain the upper hand on the issue. In Wisconsin’s tight gubernatorial race, Republican Tom Tiffany has attacked Democrat David Crowley with ads calling him “Data Center David.” Both candidates say they support restrictions on the industry.

立场差异不大的候选人仍然试图在这一问题上占据上风。在威斯康星州胶着的州长竞选中，共和党人汤姆·蒂芙尼（Tom Tiffany）通过广告攻击民主党人戴维·克劳利（David Crowley），称他为“数据中心戴维”。两位候选人都表示支持对该行业进行限制。

In states that have been hotbeds for data center activity, some candidates in tight races have been forced to pivot on the issue. Nowhere is this clearer than in Texas, where incumbent governor Greg Abbott has gone from welcoming data center development to putting a de facto moratorium on permits in less than a year. His opponent, Gina Hinojosa, says Abbott hasn’t gone far enough to regulate the industry.

在那些数据中心活动频繁的州，一些选情胶着的候选人被迫在这一问题上转变立场。这一点在德克萨斯州表现得最为明显，现任州长格雷格·阿博特（Greg Abbott）在不到一年的时间里，从欢迎数据中心开发转变为对许可证实施事实上的暂停。他的对手吉娜·伊诺霍萨（Gina Hinojosa）表示，阿博特在监管该行业方面做得还不够。

On the Ballot

选票议题

Voters in eight states are looking at more than 30 local ballot measures around data centers. Once again, Ohio is a standout here: It’s responsible for more than half of those measures, from local moratoriums to referendums around rezoning.

八个州的选民正在审议30多项关于数据中心的地方投票议题。俄亥俄州再次成为焦点：这些议题中有一半以上来自该州，内容涵盖从地方暂停令到重新分区的全民公投。

What We’re Writing

我们正在撰写的报道

WIRED science editor Brian Kahn and I got exclusive access to a startup that wants to pull water from the air using excess heat from data centers. While atmospheric water-harvesting technology has been around for a while, the startup has a unique spin. Atoco uses materials known as metal organic frameworks, or MOFs, which won one of its founders the Nobel Prize last year. The company’s previous prototypes have all needed to be hooked up to the grid to generate enough heat to extract water from the MOFs. The new version, though, only needs waste heat from industrial facilities—like data centers—to produce water, even in arid areas.

《连线》科学编辑布莱恩·卡恩（Brian Kahn）和我独家采访了一家初创公司，该公司希望利用数据中心产生的多余热量从空气中提取水分。虽然大气集水技术已经存在了一段时间，但这家初创公司有其独特之处。Atoco使用被称为金属有机框架（MOFs）的材料，其创始人之一去年获得了诺贝尔奖。该公司之前的原型机都需要连接到电网，以产生足够的热量从MOFs中提取水分。然而，新版本只需要来自工业设施（如数据中心）的废热即可生产水，即使在干旱地区也是如此。

What We’re Reading

我们正在阅读的内容

In Memphis, Tennessee, home of Elon Musk’s SpaceX data centers, the city council postponed a vote on a data ce

在埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）的SpaceX数据中心所在地田纳西州孟菲斯市，市议会推迟了一项关于数据中心的投票。