Data center debate takes center stage in Nevada 2026 election

Peter, let's start with you.

This isn't a red or blue issue.

Nearly 70% of Americans oppose building an AI data center in their neighborhood, according to an NBC News poll released this month.

But it's interesting to see the Elko County Republican resolution opposing nondisclosure agreements to identify land that isn't adjacent to residential areas, ensuring communities are put first if there are water or energy strains, and for there to be information about communities first responder capabilities if there were to be a fire.

Why did the Elko GOP feel that this was necessary?

Well, the Elko County Republican Party feels that it's important to address local issues that are important to voters.

A lot of times we've found that some of the higher the higher levels of our party aren't attuned to the issues of local voters as well as they should be.

And we felt that it was really important to weigh in on this particular issue.

It's something that Democrats have quickly grabbed onto this election.

Do you feel that Republicans are maybe lagging or just now starting to address some of the issues around data centers?

Yeah, I could agree with that.

It's hard to always be on top of the zeitgeist of the issues.

But our local party here in Elko County, we really try to stay on top of these things.

How important is this to you as a voter?

For me, it's not one of the top issues.

I can see how it is because it's really, it boils down to an issue of trust in our institutions.

For me personally, I feel, excuse me, I feel very comfortable with the way our local county officials are addressing it.

But I can see how other voters really have trust issues.

You mentioned local government.

What about the governor? Governor Joe Lombardo has been pretty pro data centers in the past, calling them a gold rush.

He's slightly backed off recently, even releasing an executive order today.

But first, let's hear from him.

This is part of a video that he shared on his campaign Facebook page this spring.

I'm a supporter of the data centers.

If you're going to open a data center, you've got to have a recycle system set up for water use so it's not detrimental to the water table and the overall consumption of water.