Voter turnout spiked in Minnesota communities linked to hyperscale data centers

Running for City Council in Farmington this year, Ben Blomgren said voters asked him about data centers more than anything else. “This was the issue that everyone wanted to talk about,” he said. “When I went door to door, it was about the data center.” Blomgren had a clear position on the proposed Farmington Technology Park hyperscale data center project. He opposed it, and, if elected, would vote against it at every turn. On Election Day, the candidate earned the most votes out of six people running for two open seats. When he takes office in January, he’ll be one of a host of newly elected leaders in Minnesota bringing skeptical stances against data centers to local governments. A spike in voter turnout in Farmington and other cities linked to data centers helped these candidates win, according to data from the Minnesota Secretary of State. The data center effect Data centers became a new election issue in Minnesota this year.

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