Election 2026

Independent, source-first accountability

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Issue record

Electricity bills and data centers

In short

Brown's campaign wants data centers to pay full utility costs and a cap on rate hikes. Husted's office says his Ratepayer Protection Act would make data centers, not families, pay for power built for them. Levy's campaign says data centers should not drive up Ohio bills; Redpath's lists no position on the pages checked. The House passed its own bill by that name; Husted asked the Senate to pass it, and an objection blocked it.

Campaign positions

What each campaign says.

Sherrod Brown

His campaign says data centers should pay the full cost of their utilities so household bills do not go up, and that he would cap how much utility companies can raise rates.

Jon Husted

His office says his Ratepayer Protection Act would make large electricity users such as data centers, not families or small businesses, pay for the generation and transmission built to serve them.

Greg Levy

His platform says Ohioans should not have to worry about electricity bills driven up by data centers they did not ask for, and that the race for AI threatens to strain the state's grid.

William B. Redpath

No position on electricity prices or data centers was found on his campaign's About, What I Stand For or Media pages.

Evidence timeline

What the record shows.

  1. official action

    Jon Husted: Matches stated record claim

    The House passed its own bill of the same name, with overlapping text, 417 to 3; Husted then asked the Senate to pass that House bill, and an objection blocked it.

    Read the full check

    Full detail

    His office says he introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act on July 16, 2026, that the act passed the House on September 16, 2026, by 417 to 3, and that on September 17 he brought it to the Senate floor seeking passage by unanimous consent, which was blocked. He introduced S. 5028, the Ratepayer Protection Act, on July 16, 2026; it was referred to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. It would add a standard to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act under which rates for data-center customers with a peak demand of 100 megawatts or more recover the full, incremental cost of the generation, transmission and distribution upgrades needed to serve them, a standard state regulators must consider and decide whether to adopt. The bill the House passed on September 16 was the House companion, H.R. 9340, sponsored by Representative Gabe Evans, on a motion to suspend the rules and pass it as amended, 417 to 3 (Roll Call 312). Its 100-megawatt threshold and its full-cost standard appear word for word in the House bill as passed, though the two texts are not identical. On September 17, 2026 he asked unanimous consent that the Senate take up H.R. 9340 and pass it; an objection was heard (Congressional Record, pages S4775 to S4776). Neither bill has passed the Senate. Limit: The House passed its own bill of the same name, not his. His office's July release says Representatives Evans and Castor introduced the House companion, so his office has not hidden the difference, but "the Ratepayer Protection Act passed the House" describes a different bill number with overlapping, not identical, text. When he sought Senate passage, the bill he asked the Senate to pass was the House one, so his office's use of the name follows how he treats the House bill himself.

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Sources12 source records

How we use sources

  1. Our Fighthttps://www.sherrodbrown.com/our-fight/

    Friends of Sherrod Brown · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source. Positions and claims are attributed to the campaign, not independently verified facts. The site's only issues page: health insurance, drug prices, data centers, utility rates, and congressional stock trading and lobbying. Its lines about his opponent are out of scope here.

    candidate statement

    For: Sherrod Brown: campaign position

  2. New ad: Sherrod Brown for corporations to pay the full cost of their data centershttps://www.sherrodbrown.com/2026/07/10/new-ad-sherrod-brown-for-corporations-to-pay-the-full-cost-of-their-data-centers/

    Friends of Sherrod Brown · Published Jul 10, 2026 · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source. Positions and claims are attributed to the campaign, not independently verified facts. Includes the ad's transcript.

    candidate statement

    For: Sherrod Brown: campaign position

  3. Husted leads bill to protect Americans from footing the bill for new data centershttps://www.husted.senate.gov/media/press-releases/husted-leads-bill-to-protect-americans-from-footing-the-bill-for-new-data-centers/

    Office of Senator Jon Husted · Published Jul 20, 2026 · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Released by his Senate office. Claims are the office's own and are attributed, not independently verified.

    candidate statement

    For: Jon Husted: campaign position

  4. S. 5028, Ratepayer Protection Act, 119th Congresshttps://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5028

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Sponsor: Jon Husted, introduced July 16, 2026; referred to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Adds a standard to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act for utility customers of 100 megawatts or more of data-processing load, which state regulators must consider and determine whether to adopt. Its 100-megawatt threshold and full-cost standard appear word for word in H.R. 9340 as passed by the House, whose text is not identical to his.

    official legislative record

    For: Jon Husted: campaign position; Jon Husted: Matches stated record claim

  5. Our Platformhttps://www.greg4senate.com/platform

    Greg Levy for Senate · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source. Positions and claims are attributed to the campaign, not independently verified facts. A 2,836-word platform, the whole of his issue material.

    candidate statement

    For: Greg Levy: campaign position

  6. Who is Bill Redpath?https://billredpath.com/about/

    Redpath for US Senate Committee · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source. Positions and claims are attributed to the campaign, not independently verified facts. Footer reads "Paid for by the Redpath for US Senate Committee"; the FEC committee record gives BILLREDPATH.COM. Its social links point at the bare instagram.com, facebook.com and x.com domains, so no handle is established.

    candidate statement

    For: William B. Redpath: campaign position

  7. What I Stand Forhttps://billredpath.com/faq/

    Redpath for US Senate Committee · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source. Positions and claims are attributed to the campaign, not independently verified facts. The site's issues page, served at /faq/: Iran, tariffs, immigration, the debt and entitlements, federal spending, taxes and electoral reform.

    candidate statement

    For: William B. Redpath: campaign position

  8. Mediahttps://billredpath.com/latest-news/

    Redpath for US Senate Committee · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source. Positions and claims are attributed to the campaign, not independently verified facts. Links to interviews and news coverage; read for statements, none on the subjects where he is recorded as silent.

    candidate statement

    For: William B. Redpath: campaign position

  9. Husted bill to protect Americans from footing the bill for new data centers blocked from passagehttps://www.husted.senate.gov/media/press-releases/husted-bill-to-protect-americans-from-footing-the-bill-for-new-data-centers-blocked-from-passage/

    Office of Senator Jon Husted · Published Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Released by his Senate office. Claims are the office's own and are attributed, not independently verified.

    candidate statement

    For: Jon Husted: Matches stated record claim

  10. H.R. 9340, Ratepayer Protection Act, 119th Congresshttps://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9340

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Sponsor: Representative Gabe Evans. Passed the House September 16, 2026; received in the Senate.

    official legislative record

    For: Jon Husted: Matches stated record claim

  11. House Roll Call 312 (2026), H.R. 9340, Ratepayer Protection Act, on a motion to suspend the rules and pass as amended (document)

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Passed September 16, 2026, 417 to 3.

    official legislative record

    For: Jon Husted: Matches stated record claim

  12. Unanimous consent request, H.R. 9340https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/CREC-2026-09-17/CREC-2026-09-17-pt1-PgS4775

    Congressional Record, U.S. Government Publishing Office · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Pages S4775 to S4776 of September 17, 2026: his request that the Senate proceed to H.R. 9340, which was at the desk, and pass it, and the chair's "The objection is heard."

    official legislative record

    For: Jon Husted: Matches stated record claim