Shapiro, Garrity accuse each other of supporting data centers

Data centers have become the new battleground in Pennsylvania politics, and the Shapiro-Garrity clash is a textbook example of how a once-obscure infrastructure issue can explode into a statewide campaign flashpoint. Both candidates are trying to paint the other as a pawn of corporate interests, but the underlying reality is far more complicated. Shapiro points to job creation and economic development, while Garrity taps into genuine voter anxiety about rising energy bills and strained power grids. The truth is that both have histories of supporting tax incentives for business—Shapiro as governor, Garrity as a state treasurer who oversaw investments in tech funds. So the ads are less about policy divergence and more about who can craft the more compelling narrative. What makes this interesting is how quickly data centers have shifted from a niche economic development talking point to a litmus test for political authenticity. In rural and suburban Pennsylvania, residents are seeing massive warehouses pop up, consuming enormous amounts of electricity and water, while local schools and roads struggle to keep up. The "not in my backyard" sentiment is real, and both campaigns are exploiting it. But the deeper issue is that neither candidate is offering a concrete plan to balance growth with community needs—they're just trading soundbites. That might work in the short term, but it leaves voters without a real roadmap for the future. The 15-point gap in the polls suggests Shapiro has room to absorb these attacks, but Garrity's strategy is to define the race around a single, visceral issue. If she can convince enough independents that Shapiro is soft on corporate overreach, she might narrow the margin. However, her own record is vulnerable—she's not exactly a clean break from the status quo. This race is a microcosm of a national trend: data centers are the new pipelines, and every politician will have to take a side. The question is whether they'll do it with substance or just spin. Source: [The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6055856-shapiro-garrity-pennsylvania-data-centers/)