Battleground Governor’s Trump Permitting Pact Pours Fuel On Data Center Fire

Data centers appear to be becoming a liability for a Republican governor locked in one of the nation’s tightest midterm races.

Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed an Aug. 31 agreement opting the state into the Trump administration’s fast-track permitting process, which could speed data center construction on federal land, NBC News reported. Data centers have emerged as a midterm wedge issue across the nation, with a pollster close to President Donald Trump warning in a September memo that Republican candidates who throw their full support behind new data centers are on the wrong side of the voters.

“This agreement will help Nevada cut through unnecessary delays, improve coordination with our federal partners, and move critical projects forward,” Lombardo said in an Aug. 31 press release, announcing the agreement. “By making the permitting process more efficient and predictable, we can support responsible growth, strengthen our economy, and deliver results for Nevadans.”

The agreement with the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council enrolls Nevada in FAST-41, a federal program that coordinates environmental reviews and sets public timelines for major infrastructure projects, according to the council’s Aug. 31 announcement. 

The deal puts Lombardo on the unpopular side of the data center debate, with 59 percent of Nevada likely voters opposed to data center construction near them, a Sept. 10 Emerson College poll found. Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is challenging Lombardo’s reelection bid, held a narrow two-point lead over Lombardo among likely voters in the governor’s race — a lead within the survey’s margin of error.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the Nevada gubernatorial race as a “toss up.”

Nevada is one of more than a half-dozen Republican-led states to sign such an agreement with the administration, after Alaska, Idaho, Missouri, Tennessee, Utah, Georgia, Louisiana and Iowa, the announcement stated.

“I’m wholeheartedly in support of data centers because currently we’re not having that draw on the resources, the limitation of our resources, within our environment as a result of data centers,” Lombardo told 2 News Nevada in May.

He then said he backs the projects only if “appropriate guardrails” are in place at an Aug. 21 Latin Chamber of Commerce event in Las Vegas.