(The Center Square) – Data centers and oversight have become a hot topic in both state and congressional races across the country, including in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, where challenger Rebecca Cooke paid for a recent commercial claiming that incumbent Derrick Van Orden sold out taxpayers in the district on data center regulations.
The 3rd Congressional District includes Eau Claire, La Crosse and Stevens Point.
The reference appears to be to a proposed section of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that passed the House before it was removed from the final bill by the Senate. The clause included a 10-year moratorium on the enforcement of state and local laws to limit, restrict, or regulate artificial intelligence models and systems.
When asked about that reference and Cooke’s close connections to two groups pushing data centers in the state, however, Cooke’s communications team declined to comment on her behalf.
This week, Van Orden voted along with much of the House (417-3) for the Ratepayer Protection Act, which requires state regulators to require data center companies to pay the full cost of the energy generation, transmission and distribution upgrades required by those companies to serve their data centers.
“Wisconsin families shouldn’t be stuck paying higher utility bills to subsidize massive energy demands, including from data centers,” Van Orden said in a statement after the vote. “If a company needs massive amounts of power, Wisconsin families shouldn’t be left holding the bill. This legislation makes sure those costs are borne by the companies driving that demand, not hardworking families.”
Polling across the country has showed an increased opposition to data centers, including tax breaks and increased energy costs from the facilities.
A recent The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll found that 68% think that communities should be able to limit data centers if they strain those local resources while 22% believe that communities should accept those trade-offs for the benefits of economic growth and the country’s technology future.
Cooke’s connections are with the Democratic think tank Third Way, where she was reportedly paid $30,000 to be a senior visiting fellow and the Wisconsin Technology Council, where she was a board member.
Third Way has encouraged policy promoting data centers and the use of federal lands to build them. The technology council has pushed for bills to promote tax increment districts for data center tax breaks and pushed specifically for large-scale data centers from Microsoft in Mount Pleasant and Meta in Beaver Dam.
Cooke’s communications staff declined comment on her connections to both groups.
Van Orden has stated that he believes local communities should have the final say on data centers there and that productive farmland should not be used.
