Ad targets Husted on data center support

This week, we discuss the race for the U.S. Senate and Sherrod Brown’s slightly risky new ad, where he takes on Jon Husted and data centers. Despite getting hammered in TV ads, Democrat Amy Acton continues to hold her own against Vivek Ramaswamy in the governor’s race. And calls grow for greater transparency and tighter rules for JobsOhio, Ohio’s public but privately run economic development agency. We start with data centers as a growing issue in this year’s campaign. As you may have heard, Ohio has become a magnet for warehouses filled with computers. We have more than 200, putting Ohio in the top five of data center populations in the country. The data centers draw opposition because they consume a lot of electricity, water, and farmland. But they also create lots of construction jobs, specifically union construction jobs, which is why a new ad by organized labor champion Sherrod Brown is a bit surprising. Our panel includes reporters Jo Ingles from Ohio Public Radio and Jake Zuckerman from Signal Statewide, as well as Republican strategist Mike Gondiakis and Democratic strategist Brian Rothenberg. **Snollygoster of the week** This week, we turn our attention to the cable television channel CNBC. Last week, it named Ohio the No. 1 state in the country to do business. Right away, the Ohio business bandwagon was overflowing. Archie Griffin recorded the intro for the CNBC segment, and Gov. Mike DeWine did a live interview on the network. As we mentioned, JobsOhio wasted no time heavily promoting the ranking. It was a nice way to counteract the governance and oversight questions the agency faces. Democrats are taking advantage of the ranking, using it against their Republican opponents. This week, they quoted CNBC’s claim that Ohio is among the best positioned to land AI data center deals, despite rising public opposition. It seems like every Ohio politician is quoting CNBC, which is a pretty shrewd move for the cable channel. (photo: Mark Duncan / AP)