On October 27, Democrats held a virtual fundraiser with Kamala Harris as guest to elect climate utility leaders for the Georgia Public Service Commission and Arizona Corporation Commission—obscure offices most voters ignore. Cohosts included a DNC climate council, the Georgia Democratic Party, and Lead Locally PAC, which openly aims to block pipelines and ban fracking by winning these races. The pitch linked cheaper power to data-center restrictions and a push for 100% clean energy.
This mirrors the Soros prosecutor strategy: target low-profile offices with wide discretion. Ten states elect utility regulators (Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota). These cheap, overlooked races let a few million dollars install commissioners who can effectively block data centers without formal bans. Republicans focused on AI leadership should prioritize them, and legislatures should prevent power connections from becoming political vetoes.
The model worked for DAs. In 2017, George Soros gave $1.45 million via PAC to help elect Larry Krasner in Philadelphia; his office then largely stopped seeking cash bail for lower-level cases without any legislative vote. Similar spending protected Kim Foxx in Chicago. Later cleanups (Boudin recall, Krasner impeachment, Gascón defeat) proved far harder than the original wins.
Democracy PAC (Soros-linked) recently sent $2 million to Working Families Party PAC and more to Justice & Public Safety. Working Families backed Arizona Democrats Clara Pratte and Jonathon Hill; related groups have spent nearly $2 million attacking the Republican incumbents. The network operates so no single donor needs to hand-pick candidates.
Utility races offer high leverage. Project Blue (a Tucson-area data center projected at $3.6 billion investment) saw its power agreement approved by the Arizona commission; Pratte and Hill said they would have opposed it. Georgia’s $8,400 contribution limit is tiny next to the commission’s recent approval of nearly 10 GW of new generation.
Lead Locally has endorsed candidates explicitly seeking to stop or heavily restrict data centers. Georgia Democrat Peter Hubbard has said data centers should not be allowed unless they meet conditions including renewables, union labor, and other rules. A Hubbard hold plus a District 5 win would flip Georgia’s 3-2 Republican commission; Arizona’s 5-0 Republican body cannot flip this year but two seats create a foothold.
Democrats frame this as affordability—ratepayers shouldn’t subsidize data centers. President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge and existing Georgia Power agreements already require large loads to cover their costs. Extra conditions on labor and fuel source, however, function as barriers rather than pure consumer protection.
Legislatures in these states should codify large-load tariffs (minimum bills, exit fees, collateral) and bar commissions from conditioning service on union deals or fuel choices beyond reliability and cost. Flexible-load tariffs (Duke estimated ~98 GW could be accommodated with only 0.5% annual curtailment) would allow faster connections without overbuilding.
Republican donors routinely spend tens of millions on Senate races yet ignore $500,000 commission seats that can decide $3.6 billion projects. Party leaders in key states should recruit seriously, and voters should read the full ballot.
Berkeley Lab projects data centers will use ~11.8% of U.S. electricity by 2030. Decisions in Atlanta, Phoenix, Baton Rouge, and Bismarck will shape where that infrastructure is built. The left learned that the cheapest offices to capture are the ones opponents ignore; the political right should not relearn that lesson with the AI economy.
