The Victors

Michigan politics is having a No Data Center outbreak
September 2, 2026|ai, data centers, elections, statewide
US Representative Tom Barrett (left) and Michigan Representative Joey Andrews (right) have both produced meaningless messaging bills to curry favor with anti-data center grassroots, in an attempt to hide their pro-data center voting records.
US Representative Tom Barrett (left) and Michigan Representative Joey Andrews (right) have both produced meaningless messaging bills to curry favor with anti-data center grassroots, in an attempt to hide their pro-data center voting records.

With a rash of meaningless messaging bills proposed by toxic politicians


For Michigan politicians, being against AI data centers is so hot right now. More specifically: being perceived as being against AI data centers. But grandstanding against data centers is not the same thing as actually taking action against them.

Perry Johnson; Mike Rogers; Mallory McMorrow–just about all this year’s major candidates have made some type of pass at pretending to be concerned about data centers, in spite of the fact that their policies and big moneyed donors strongly support the AI buildout. Just recently, Congressional Candidate for M-7 Tom Barrett released a commercial positioning himself as a champion in the fight against AI data center tax breaks–in spite of the fact that in 2025 he voted for both the Big Beautiful Bill, which provided huge tax incentives and support to the AI buildout, and for the SPEED Act which cuts environmental regulations around the development of data centers and chip plants.

And why are all these political candidates who have been in lockstep with big tech suddenly talking about regulations and safeguards for the AI buildout? Is it because they’ve suddenly had a change of heart? Unlikely. The far more likely reason is simple: Michigan is against it. Across the board. Right, left, center, red, blue, purple, green, rural, urban, rich, and poor. Michiganders do not want AI data centers; we don’t want AI surveillance and warfare; we don’t want AI psychosis and scambots.

To be clear: the issue of AI data centers has become central to this 2026 midterm election. It was a deciding factor at the primaries in August, and it will be a deciding factor in November. In Michigan, and across the country.

That’s why we’re seeing politicians put out a rash of messaging bills, positioning themselves as champions in the fight against AI data centers. But the problem with messaging bills is they’re just that–for messaging. They’re not intended to become law. They’re just put out there to send a message.

Politicians are suddenly making a concerted effort to appear to be against data centers. But for many, this is nothing more than a hollow attempt to cover their pro-data center tracks.

Take Congressman Tom Barrett’s latest proposed House Bill 10119, the “Protecting Local Control of Data Centers Act”, for example. It’s a barren two-pager with generic language that could never pass as law. His HB 10118 on Data Center NDAs is about the same. These bills are destined for the garbage. And anyway, Barrett’s campaign took nearly $870K from Elon Musk’s America PAC to secure his seat in 2024, with Palantir and Blackstone executives on his donor roll this year. His allegiances are clearly with big tech.

So why write these bills? So he can write press releases about cracking down against data centers. This is very important to his campaign, because his grassroots opponent in the upcoming midterm election, Will Lawrence, is campaigning on a firm, consistent platform against the AI data center buildout.

We see something similar with Rep. Joey Andrews and his associates Snyder, McFall, and Martus–i.e. the Representatives who sponsored the data center sales tax breaks which were passed in 2024 (PA 207 of 2024). Rep. Andrews and other democrats are now spearheading a package of bills (HB 6135-6142) to allegedly curb and regulate AI data center development. At best, the bills are a lukewarm repackaging of better legislation which has already been proposed by their colleagues. At worst, they’re paving the way for data center developers by laying out lax, halfhearted regulations which are nowhere near what Michigan needs. And, not surprisingly, the bills have no bipartisan support. Which indicates that they’re not serious about becoming law.

Rep. Andrew literally wrote the legislature which rang the dinner bell for AI data center development, without any safeguards for water, energy, and Michigan’s environment in place, but now he wants to position himself as curbing unregulated development with these lackluster messaging bills. It’s absurd.

As another example, take state Senator Jim Runestad’s proposal of a 12 month data center moratorium in June, and his recent talk of writing a bill to repeal the 2025 data center tax breaks. It would be worth lauding Senator Runestad for these efforts, if it weren’t for the fact that a more robust package of bills was introduced by a much broader, bipartisan group of House legislators just six months earlier in December 2025–bills for which Senator Runestad did not offer his support. He did not attend the rally in December where the data center tax break repeal and moratorium bills were announced, nor did he support our lobbying efforts in March to support these and other critical bills. His moratorium bill has one lone co-sponsor–a fellow republican. Because it’s not serious legislation. It’s not intended to ever become law. He just wants to get some positive media from the grassroots community. It’s the lawmaker’s equivalent of virtue signaling.

The moral of the story is that you can’t trust what politicians say; you can only trust what they actually do. With these ridiculous messaging bills blurring the line, it can be even harder to decipher which politician is trying to help you, and which is just trying to appease you long enough to score your vote so they can get back to working for their corporate overlords. In other words: even when politicians do introduce bills that seem aimed at satisfying the people’s demands, many of those are just false fronts. Fakeouts.

Meanwhile, folks like Rep. Jim Desana and (R) and Rep. Dylan Wegela (D) quietly continue to support good, bipartisan legislation, like the 2025 data center moratorium and tax break repeal bills. Rep. Reggie Miller has been laying the model for proper regulation with over 25 proposed bills for data center regulation. Rep. Steve Carra, who chairs the House Oversight Subcommittee on Corporate Investments, has taken an unequivocable stance against AI data centers not just in his words, but through his committee’s investigations. And M-7 congressional candidate Will Lawrence has taken zero dollars from big tech, and he has been receptive to the systemic problems with so-called green energy–even as a Democrat. There are some politicians doing some good work. It’s just real hard to find them in the dirty water.

In the end, it just means that we have to follow our instincts more, and to make a concerted effort to be less gullible. Not everyone can take the time to look up every legislator’s track record on everything. That’ s just not reasonable. We have to use our gut, and our common sense.

Common sense dictates that, in this political and economic environment, most politicians are lying to you most of the time. Most corporations and developers are, too.

With that in mind, we simply have to apply a high level of scrutiny to everything. Don’t pay attention to what people say about themselves. Pay attention to what they do. Where do they spend their time? Are they actually listening to grassroots? And perhaps most importantly: who’s funding them?

The fight against data centers is affecting political races on both sides of the aisles. Democrat and Republican candidates alike are fawning over themselves to win the votes of the anti-data center crowd–which is the lion’s share of Michiganders. Holding to political alliances won’t help you on this issue. There are wolves on both sides.

Our job, as Michigan’s residents and stewards, is to use our discernment, and to keep our messaging clear. No means no. We won’t be satisfied with soothing messages. We demand action–and for a halt to the corporate welfare machine which is propping up a toxic industry.

Make no mistake: we are winning. That’s why politicians are tripping over themselves to align with grassroots. Because we’re making an impact. So let’s not falter now.

Remember the real enemy–and remember your friends. Politicians aren’t your friends, and your neighbors aren’t your enemies.

https://edraofmi.org/blog/f/michigan-politics-is-having-a-no-data-center-outbreak