The battle for Pennsylvania's governorship has taken a sharp turn as Democrat Josh Shapiro and Republican Stacy Garrity unleash dueling advertisements, each painting the other as an ally of data center developers. The attacks come amid rising public skepticism about the facilities, which are often built to power artificial intelligence.
Garrity, the state treasurer, trails Shapiro by 15 points in an August poll from The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Siena College. To close the gap, she has launched a series of ads accusing the governor of prioritizing corporate interests over local communities. One spot claims Shapiro "sold us out" for backing Amazon's data center projects.
Shapiro's record on data centers has indeed shifted. In 2025, he introduced a Fast Track permitting program that helped Amazon invest $20 billion in two facilities in Luzerne and Bucks counties. At the time, Garrity praised the move, saying it would create "thousands of jobs" and bring "historic investment" to the state. But by August, Shapiro reversed course, issuing an executive order that requires developers to cover their own electricity costs and obtain local approval before construction. He said the change came after hearing from Pennsylvanians who felt overwhelmed by the pace of development.
"I heard loud and clear from the people of Pennsylvania," Shapiro said, vowing not to let the state "be bullied by developers and bulldozed by the lawyers" representing tech companies.
Shapiro's campaign fired back with its own ad, labeling Garrity "Pennsylvania's No. 1 fan of data centers." The spot highlights a late 2025 speech where Garrity welcomed data centers in rural counties, though she later added that "you can't just jam them down their throats." Garrity has since distanced herself from those comments and now supports a pause on new projects. Before her attack ads, she had referred to Shapiro as data centers' "biggest cheerleader."
The political maneuvering reflects a broader national trend. A July Fox News poll found 70% of voters oppose having a data center built in their area to support AI. This public trust deficit has led to pushback in other swing states as well. Aru Shiney-Ajay, executive director of the progressive Sunrise Movement, told The Hill that canvassers in Michigan and Wisconsin have encountered voters who say they are "flipping their party affiliation because of the importance of data centers."
Even some federal officials are exploring alternatives. NASA's chief has floated the idea of orbital data centers to avoid local opposition. Meanwhile, Shapiro's latest lead over Garrity—now 16 points in a more recent poll—suggests the attacks may not be shifting the race significantly, but they show how data centers have become a flashpoint in battleground states.
