By Trimmel Gomes
By Josh Israel for the Florida Independent.
Broadcast version by Trimmel Gomes for Florida News Connection reporting for the Florida Independent-Public News Service Collaboration
As a significant number of Florida voters across the political spectrum are speaking out against constructing large artificial intelligence data centers in the state, gubernatorial candidates of both parties are addressing how they would handle the issue. While several candidates have called for a moratorium or ban on new AI data center construction, some have opposed that approach.
“In order to generate artificial intelligence and utilize technology, you have to build these massive centers that are essentially computers that generate things on a constant basis, and because of the need for energy, it requires a lot of utility services,” said Jonathan Alingu, co-executive director of the Center Florida Jobs with Justice coalition, which has worked to organize opposition to AI data center construction in Florida. “It requires a lot of water, and so much so that it takes away from residents that need both of those services, and the result is it drives up the prices on both areas.”
Brooke Alexander-Goss, organizing manager for the Sierra Club Florida Chapter, told the Florida Independent that data centers present environmental and quality-of-life problems: “We already have a very delicate water system in the state, and we know that data centers are among the most water-intensive commercial facilities that exist. People are concerned about the noise that data centers produce, and I think people are really starting to figure out that when a proposal is being presented by a developer, they tend to talk about, Oh, it’s going to create so many jobs, and I think communities are catching on to the fact that those jobs are very temporary.”
Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, and Sarasota counties have adopted temporary moratoriums on new AI data center construction projects, according to WTSP 10 in Tampa Bay, and other communities are considering similar pauses.
Javier Estevez, the political and legislative director of Sierra Club Florida, said a statewide moratorium is a necessary first step: “A moratorium is what’s needed in order to keep any data centers from being built. But what’s important is what policies do we put in place later, before any data centers are actually built in the state of Florida — when I say ‘data centers,’ I mean hyperscale big AI data centers in the state of Florida. What kind of guardrails do we put to ensure that Floridians are protected from data centers and all the negative effects that that could bring?”
A July poll by the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab of likely Florida voters found that while respondents were evenly split on whether the growth of AI has been a good thing, just 28% would support building an AI data center in their local area and 68% would oppose it. “While Floridians are evenly split on their impressions of AI, opposition to the building of data centers is overwhelming,” said the research lab’s faculty director, Sean Freeder, in the polling memo. “Even groups who are positive about the technology don’t want its support infrastructure anywhere near where they live.”
The issue has unified liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans, said Estevez: “Nothing is successful in the state, no matter how big your coalition is, if the local residents and Floridians aren’t on your side about it, and that is why this is becoming such a big hot-topic issue in this campaign. It is because Floridians across the state, across the aisle, are saying hell, no to data centers. We need to make sure that we’re protected.”
Here is where the leading Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates stand on AI data centers.
Republican Lt. Gov. Jay Collins
Collins opposes a moratorium, instead proposing requirements that large data centers provide their own water and power.
In a July 17 social media post, he argued that cities and counties should make their own choices. “I’m putting my money where my mouth is. And I want to make sure that, in these things, out of ease, we don’t just go right back to state control.”
In an email, campaign press secretary Jason Puwalski said: “Lt. Governor Collins supports local communities using their authority to pause or reject projects when water, grid capacity, or neighborhood impacts have not been addressed. What he does not support is a blanket statewide moratorium that treats every facility the same and may not survive a legal challenge. His Florida Strong Plan requires hyperscale operators to pay for the power, water, and infrastructure they need. Florida families will not subsidize them. The plan protects local decision-making, strengthens water and aquifer review, and requires transparency around ownership, NDAs, job claims, and promised community benefits. If a developer cannot meet Florida’s standards, it does not build here.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds
During a campaign event in Clearwater on July 24, WUSF in Tampa reported, Donalds expressed opposition to moratoriums. Referring to a New York state moratorium, he said: “But you also have to understand that when you start doing stuff like what New York just did, that’s a signal to the business community that this is not a place to invest capital. This is not a place to invest in businesses, and so we have to be balanced and be mindful about that.”
In May 2025, Donalds told the Economic Club of Miami: “I think for the future of the state, what’s going to be important are data centers and power. Those are going to be the two critical things for the state of Florida. … You’re going to have data centers, tech firms, etc. We need to embrace that, not run away from that. And the beauty of our state, unlike New York or Illinois, where their regulatory environments are atrocious, or California, where they basically just destroyed themselves because they’re dumb and don’t know how to govern — we are wide open. We have actual land. I mean, not here in Miami, but we have actual land in our state that is still pristine, available to use. We can build out that stuff and still maintain the beauty of our state.”
On July 20, Donalds announced that he was proposing a federal bill to regulate all data centers nationally. In a press release, he said the Protecting Ratepayers Act “requires all new and existing data centers to generate and use their own power and water. This common-sense approach will ease the burden on individuals and households everywhere without stifling our economic growth.”
A day later, Politico reported that Donalds has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from developers who have proposed data centers in Florida.
In an email, campaign communications director Gates McGavick said: “Byron Donalds answers to no one besides the voters of Florida. Byron has also been very clear: no protections for ratepayers and Florida’s natural resources means no data centers. That’s why he’s leading and legislating on this issue while other candidates react to it.”
Republican business executive James Fishback
Fishback has called for a full statewide ban on state centers. The top item on the platform page on his campaign website is his plan to stop them. “You didn’t vote for data centers, but they are being built in every corner of our state, turning Florida farmland into a dystopian wasteland. Data centers raise electric bills, jeopardize our water supply, and crater property values in surrounding communities. They consume enormous amounts of land, water, and power, and Floridians get nothing in return,” it says. “As Governor, James Fishback will not reform data centers. He will not regulate them. He will ban them in all 67 counties by preventing county commissions from approving them in the first place. It is called statewide preemption, and Fishback will get it done to protect Florida’s land, water, and electric bills from an industry that takes everything and gives nothing back.”
The Fishback campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Republican former Florida House of Representatives Speaker Paul Renner
In April, Renner called for a moratorium on AI data center construction in Florida.
“The push for AI Data Center developments is a reckless gold rush,” he said in a press release. “Big Tech and major utilities are pushing massive data center projects at a pace that outstrips oversight, transparency, and common sense. As Governor, I’ll stop it.”
“To be clear, I support a statewide moratorium, i.e., full ban on the construction of hyper-scale data centers without ANY time limit,” he posted on X on July 25. “That is what I will propose to the legislature in the first 100 days.”
The Renner campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Democratic former U.S. Rep. David Jolly
On July 21, Jolly said in a post on X: “I’m calling for a moratorium on data centers until Florida has a responsible plan to protect our water, power grid, and communities. Byron Donalds wants to hand pristine Florida land over to the industry funding his campaign. Our state is not for sale.”
“Current Florida law—and Byron Donalds’ position—is that Big Tech can plunder Florida all they want, so long as they pay for it,” Jolly told the Iowa Independent in a statement. “Florida’s voters are saying: We don’t want the plundering. We don’t want to sell our land and our future. And I’m with Florida’s voters. We need a moratorium on data centers until our water and environment have the right protections, not the right price tags. We need to pause data centers until we have a thorough understanding of their long-term economic impact on home values, our communities, and our jobs. And we need to stop new data centers until these AI companies can adequately protect our kids from their own AI agents.”
Democratic state Rep. Dotie Joseph
In a phone interview, Joseph told the Florida Independent that she supports tighter regulation of data centers.
“We are seeing in the United States a proliferation of data centers at an unprecedented rate, and it’s problematic because how it’s being implemented in most places around the United States is a way that doesn’t adequately take into account their resource usage or the impact on the local communities,” she said, noting water and energy consumption, noise pollution, and other adverse effects on communities. “Now people’s bills are going up higher, their water pressure is decreasing, and a whole host of issues are popping up around the country. As we’re talking about Florida in particular, we’re having water restrictions all over the state, so these data centers are not helping the situation. Contrast that to how we see data centers operating in other countries, where instead of being a drain on resources, they actually start to contribute to what’s going on in the local community, either in adding water or even providing more electricity as opposed to less.”
Asked whether she thinks a moratorium on new construction is a good idea, Joseph responded: “I think it’s a bit more nuanced than just a blanket moratorium. I mean, it’s easy to just say we need to just stop everything altogether because it sounds like the popular thing to do, and I do agree that, to the extent that the data centers are taking up a disproportionate amount of resources from the community and they are not done in the way that I’m advocating for, that they should be stopped. And not just that they should be stopped, that people have full transparency about what this is. … I think what’s important is figuring out how to make sure that we can have a balance while we’re trying to work these things out.”