Growth of data centers becomes a defining issue of the midterms, entangling some Georgia candidates

By Jill Nolin | Editor

By Alander Rocha

Georgia candidates up and down the ballot are campaigning on an issue that has struck a nerve across the political spectrum: data centers. 

A wave of data center projects across Georgia has been met with outrage in many communities in the last year or so, causing state lawmakers from both parties to push a flurry of legislative solutions during the 2026 legislative session. But in the end, none of the bills passed. 

Since then, Georgia has become the leading state for data centers. Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican who is term-limited and leaving office after this year, has welcomed the facilities, saying at a data center-related event in Washington this summer that “we cannot let China win this race, and that’s what some people want,” referencing the race between the U.S. and China to develop increasingly powerful artificial intelligence models.

The November election will decide to what extent Georgia embraces the energy-hungry facilities in the future, with voters choosing a new governor, the lawmakers who shape the state’s policies on data centers and other state leaders who play a role in carrying out those policies. 

By Jill Nolin

Felicia Murray Jackson’s sister, Linda Davis, died in February on her way to the Savannah school where she worked after a man fleeing immigration agents crashed into her vehicle. 

But that’s not why Jackson says she’s angry today. 

“Our government has packed us full of lies,” Jackson said to a crowd of hundreds gathered Saturday at Atlanta’s Piedmont Park. “The lies are that we are better divided than we are together, and I’m here to say that’s a lie. We are better together than we are divided. 

“My enemy is not my neighbor. My neighbor is my friend,” she added. 

According to the Current, the Guatemalan national that federal immigration agents said was in the county illegally did not have a criminal record in the country before the traffic wreck. 

By Ross Williams and Alander Rocha

President Donald Trump returned to conservative northwest Georgia Friday, sharing a rally stage with the GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate and the Republican who hopes to serve as Georgia’s next governor – all while repeating unfounded claims that the 2020 election was rigged. 

Early voting started Monday for the Nov. 3 election. About 700,000 Georgians have already cast a ballot as of Friday.  

Congressman Mike Collins, a Jackson Republican who has been trailing Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in the polls, was effusive in his praise of the president.

“I want to do something real quick, and that’s just to tell you personally, personally, not just from me, but from everybody in here and across the state and across this country, sir, we appreciate your leadership, your backbone, your standing up for America and putting America first,” Collins said to Trump on stage.

By Recorder staff

This year’s midterm election is shaping up to be an especially consequential one for Georgia. Not only will Georgia voters help decide which party controls Congress by deciding whether to send U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff back to Washington, but they will also choose a new governor, secretary of state, attorney general and lieutenant governor and settle other key down-ballot races. 

For our general election guide, we’re featuring Georgia’s statewide races, explaining the three constitutional amendments on the ballot and highlighting a handful of congressional contests around the state where voters are choosing new representatives. 

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