Ohio · U.S. Senate special election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Where do the candidates stand on energy and climate?

Sherrod BrownDemocrat
Jon HustedRepublicanIncumbent

Part of the full Ohio U.S. Senate comparison · Last reviewed October 19, 2026

Energy & Climate

Each position is labeled by what it rests on: a campaign proposal, a public statement, a past action such as a vote or lawsuit, or an enacted policy. Where nothing is documented, the page says so.

Documented positions

Proposes requiring data centers to pay the full cost of their utilities and capping utility rate increases; voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, which included energy and climate spending.

Show the evidence (2)

Campaign proposal2026
His campaign proposes requiring data centers to pay the full cost of their utilities so household bills don't go up, letting Ohioans decide whether data centers are built in their communities, and capping how much utility companies can raise rates. He has said data centers should not get "over-the-top tax breaks." 3 sourcesOur Fight - Sherrod Brown (opens in a new tab)Friends of Sherrod Brown · Aug. 18, 2026 · CampaignBrown, Husted make pitches on affordability, data centers and more in U.S. Senate race (opens in a new tab)Dayton Daily News · Oct. 15, 2026 · NewsOhio's Senate candidates discuss why they're running, their stances on issues (opens in a new tab)WCPO 9 News · Sept. 22, 2026 · News
Past actionAug. 7, 2022
Voted for the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (H.R. 5376), which included about $369 billion for energy security and climate change programs; it passed the Senate 50–50 on Aug. 7, 2022, with the vice president voting Yea to break the tie. 2 sourcesRoll Call Vote 117th Congress - 2nd Session, Vote Number 325: On Passage of the Bill H.R. 5376 (opens in a new tab)U.S. Senate · Aug. 7, 2022 · Legislative recordSherrod Brown (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia · Reference

Campaign proposal2026
His campaign proposes requiring data centers to pay the full cost of their utilities so household bills don't go up, letting Ohioans decide whether data centers are built in their communities, and capping how much utility companies can raise rates. He has said data centers should not get "over-the-top tax breaks." 3 sourcesOur Fight - Sherrod Brown (opens in a new tab)Friends of Sherrod Brown · Aug. 18, 2026 · CampaignBrown, Husted make pitches on affordability, data centers and more in U.S. Senate race (opens in a new tab)Dayton Daily News · Oct. 15, 2026 · NewsOhio's Senate candidates discuss why they're running, their stances on issues (opens in a new tab)WCPO 9 News · Sept. 22, 2026 · News
Past actionAug. 7, 2022
Voted for the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (H.R. 5376), which included about $369 billion for energy security and climate change programs; it passed the Senate 50–50 on Aug. 7, 2022, with the vice president voting Yea to break the tie. 2 sourcesRoll Call Vote 117th Congress - 2nd Session, Vote Number 325: On Passage of the Bill H.R. 5376 (opens in a new tab)U.S. Senate · Aug. 7, 2022 · Legislative recordSherrod Brown (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia · Reference

Supports data center development that doesn't burden communities; introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act on data centers' grid costs; says siting is local; wants to reduce "regulatory burdens" on nuclear power.

Show the evidence (3)

Past actionSept. 30, 2026
Introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act in July 2026, which would require states to consider standards making large electricity users such as data centers pay for the generation, transmission and other infrastructure needed to serve them. The House passed its version (H.R. 9340) 417–3 on Sept. 16, 2026; in the Senate, cloture on the motion to proceed failed 57–43 on Sept. 30, 2026, with Husted voting Yea. 4 sourcesHusted leads bill to protect Americans from footing the bill for new data centers (opens in a new tab)Office of U.S. Senator Jon Husted · July 20, 2026 · GovernmentRoll Call 312: H.R. 9340, Ratepayer Protection Act, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended (opens in a new tab)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Sept. 16, 2026 · Legislative recordRoll Call Vote 119th Congress - 2nd Session, Vote Number 254: On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed H.R. 9340 (opens in a new tab)U.S. Senate · Sept. 30, 2026 · Legislative recordProtecting Ohioans from high energy costs (opens in a new tab)Office of U.S. Senator Jon Husted · Oct. 5, 2026 · Government
Public statementOct. 2026
Told Spectrum News in July 2026 that decisions on where data centers go "should be made by local residents and local communities, not the federal government." The Dayton Daily News reported in October 2026 that he wants the U.S. to lead in energy production and will push to reduce "regulatory burdens" on nuclear power facilities and other energy infrastructure. 2 sourcesAs voters turn on data centers, Husted pushes new ratepayer protections (opens in a new tab)Spectrum News 1 · July 28, 2026 · NewsBrown, Husted make pitches on affordability, data centers and more in U.S. Senate race (opens in a new tab)Dayton Daily News · Oct. 15, 2026 · News
Past action2019
As lieutenant governor, pushed for a 2019 deal giving Google $43.5 million in state tax incentives and a 15-year abatement on local property taxes for a $600 million data center in central Ohio, according to Spectrum News, which reported in July 2026 that he continues to advocate for data center development provided the facilities do not burden local communities. SourceAs voters turn on data centers, Husted pushes new ratepayer protections (opens in a new tab)Spectrum News 1 · July 28, 2026 · News

Past actionSept. 30, 2026
Introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act in July 2026, which would require states to consider standards making large electricity users such as data centers pay for the generation, transmission and other infrastructure needed to serve them. The House passed its version (H.R. 9340) 417–3 on Sept. 16, 2026; in the Senate, cloture on the motion to proceed failed 57–43 on Sept. 30, 2026, with Husted voting Yea. 4 sourcesHusted leads bill to protect Americans from footing the bill for new data centers (opens in a new tab)Office of U.S. Senator Jon Husted · July 20, 2026 · GovernmentRoll Call 312: H.R. 9340, Ratepayer Protection Act, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended (opens in a new tab)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Sept. 16, 2026 · Legislative recordRoll Call Vote 119th Congress - 2nd Session, Vote Number 254: On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed H.R. 9340 (opens in a new tab)U.S. Senate · Sept. 30, 2026 · Legislative recordProtecting Ohioans from high energy costs (opens in a new tab)Office of U.S. Senator Jon Husted · Oct. 5, 2026 · Government
Public statementOct. 2026
Told Spectrum News in July 2026 that decisions on where data centers go "should be made by local residents and local communities, not the federal government." The Dayton Daily News reported in October 2026 that he wants the U.S. to lead in energy production and will push to reduce "regulatory burdens" on nuclear power facilities and other energy infrastructure. 2 sourcesAs voters turn on data centers, Husted pushes new ratepayer protections (opens in a new tab)Spectrum News 1 · July 28, 2026 · NewsBrown, Husted make pitches on affordability, data centers and more in U.S. Senate race (opens in a new tab)Dayton Daily News · Oct. 15, 2026 · News
Past action2019
As lieutenant governor, pushed for a 2019 deal giving Google $43.5 million in state tax incentives and a 15-year abatement on local property taxes for a $600 million data center in central Ohio, according to Spectrum News, which reported in July 2026 that he continues to advocate for data center development provided the facilities do not burden local communities. SourceAs voters turn on data centers, Husted pushes new ratepayer protections (opens in a new tab)Spectrum News 1 · July 28, 2026 · News

Recorded votes on energy and climate

Selected votes

Measures only one of the two candidates voted on.

No selected votes for this candidate

Ratepayer Protection Act (H.R. 9340, 119th Congress)
Energy
Would amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish a federal standard, for states to consider, on recovering the full, incremental costs of grid upgrades that serve large-load electricity customers such as data centers from those customers.
Passed the House 417–3 on Sept. 16, 2026; in the Senate, cloture on the motion to proceed failed 57–43 on Sept. 30, 2026 (60 votes required).
4 sourcesRoll Call Vote 119th Congress - 2nd Session, Vote Number 254: On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed H.R. 9340 (opens in a new tab)U.S. Senate · Sept. 30, 2026 · Legislative recordRoll Call 312: H.R. 9340, Ratepayer Protection Act, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended (opens in a new tab)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Sept. 16, 2026 · Legislative recordHusted leads bill to protect Americans from footing the bill for new data centers (opens in a new tab)Office of U.S. Senator Jon Husted · July 20, 2026 · GovernmentProtecting Ohioans from high energy costs (opens in a new tab)Office of U.S. Senator Jon Husted · Oct. 5, 2026 · Government
Voted yes
U.S. Senate · Sept. 30, 2026
On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed H.R. 9340
Senate roll call 254, 119th Congress (official record, opens in a new tab)SourceRoll Call Vote 119th Congress - 2nd Session, Vote Number 254: On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed H.R. 9340 (opens in a new tab)U.S. Senate · Sept. 30, 2026 · Legislative record

In their own words

Statements

Data centers and electricity prices
Local communities should have a say, and instead, these data centers came in. Local communities didn't know it. They eat up the land, they suck up the water and then on top of that, it means higher electricity prices
Sherrod Brown · Answer to a question about data centers in a one-on-one interview with WCPO 9 News anchor Tanya O'Rourke near Cincinnati, published Sept. 22, 2026 · 2026
SourceOhio's Senate candidates discuss why they're running, their stances on issues (opens in a new tab)WCPO 9 News · Sept. 22, 2026 · News

Data centers and electricity costs
If America wants to lead the world in AI and strengthen our national security, we have to build the energy infrastructure to support it. But we must do that without passing the costs on to working families and small businesses.
Jon Husted · Statement in his Senate office's press release announcing the Ratepayer Protection Act · July 20, 2026
SourceHusted leads bill to protect Americans from footing the bill for new data centers (opens in a new tab)Office of U.S. Senator Jon Husted · July 20, 2026 · Government

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