Data centers have become perhaps the top single issue in the Wisconsin governor’s race. According to the most recent Marquette Law School poll, three out of four voters say they’re more trouble than they’re worth. But neither candidate seems to want to grab the issue and run with it.

Both Democrat David Crowley and Republican Tom Tiffany were once, not so long ago, outspoken supporters of data centers. Now they’re each pointing a finger at the other for that past support, while ignoring their own record. Tiffany has been trying to label his opponent “Data Center David,” but Crowley could just as easily label Tiffany as “Tech Bro Tom.”

In December of last year, Tiffany voted for a U.S. House bill that would speed up federal permitting processes for the centers and he referred to them as “an exciting new technology.” At almost the same time, in November 2025, Crowley crowed that Wisconsin could be “a data center hub, not only for the entire country, but for the entire globe.”

They now want to walk back their earlier support, but not all the way. The problem for both candidates is that they each have constituencies who love these things. For Crowley it’s the trade unions and for Tiffany it is Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state’s most influential business lobby.

So both of them nibble around the edges. Both candidates talk about the need for greater transparency when companies work with local communities in approving the centers and both say the centers need to pay for their own energy costs. Crowley would demand that at least 70% of that energy be created from renewable sources and that the centers be built with union labor.

But Tiffany has gone a step further in saying that he would repeal the sales tax exemption enjoyed by the companies that build these things. That exemption was created a few years ago in bipartisan fashion. It was passed by the Republican Legislature as part of the 2023-25 budget and signed into law by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. But that was before data centers became radioactive (metaphorically).

According to a Legislative Fiscal Bureau report, if the four mega-projects that are currently in the works in Mount Pleasant, Beaver Dam, Port Washington and Verona were subject to the sales tax, they would produce in total about $1.5 billion in tax revenue as they were being built and $369 million annually. And, again, that’s just for those four projects, never mind what might be coming next.

Tiffany is right to call for the repeal of the exemption. Microsoft, Meta, Oracle and Epic (the main companies behind those projects) can afford it. And something approaching $400 million a year would go a long way toward reducing the pressure on property taxes to pay for schools or to help parents afford child care, to name just two needs.

But now, in a transparent attempt to highlight the issue for Tiffany, legislative Republicans chimed in with a bill that would repeal the exemption. It’s curious timing to introduce it now when the Legislature is out of session, but it gives Tiffany a chance to say he’s with them and it forces Crowley to explain why he’s not. (It’s also worth noting that two of the bill’s four authors aren’t running for reelection, so they don’t need to worry about the wrath of WMC.)

This has backed Crowley into a corner, and so now he’s reversed his stance and promised to sign a repeal if the bill came to his desk. That sounds different to me than actually introducing a repeal and advocating for it, but perhaps it defuses the issue for him.

But here’s why I’m reluctant to give Tiffany or those legislators — or now Crowley — too much credit: I can’t believe they’re serious. As noted above, WMC and the unions would fight the repeal tooth and nail. It’s easy enough for the candidates to say this now, knowing full well that legislative Republicans would vote against such a bill because of WMC’s opposition and they’d be joined by Democrats who would cave to the unions. Let’s be honest. The sales tax exemption for data centers is an appalling taxpayer ripoff, but partisan politics will keep it in place. Neither party will cover themselves in glory on this one, but for purposes of the November election, give the advantage to Tiffany. He’s at least saying the right thing.

Which brings us to the big gun: a statewide moratorium on data centers. The only candidate in the primaries to support that was Francesca Hong. She wanted a year-long pause to study and develop regulations for environmental impacts, water usage, rising utility costs for local ratepayers, and those corporate tax subsidies.

But again it’s curious that none of the other Democrats in that crowded field, including Crowley, joined her in that call, even though it would have been plenty popular. Interestingly, though moratoriums have been introduced in several states, the only two that have enacted them thus far are deep blue New York and deep red Texas.

Now, unlike the tax exemption, the repeal of which is a slam dunk on the merits, a statewide moratorium is debatable public policy. Communities are free to enact their own moratoriums and many, including Madison, have done just that. While there are issues of statewide concern, ultimately this comes down to a local land use and economic development decision. If a community wants the substantial property tax revenue and the modest number of jobs that these things produce and is willing to live with the externalities, I don’t think the state should get in the way.

But let’s not quibble about pesky arguments on the actual merits of the case. We’re talking about winning an election here and proposing a moratorium would put the candidate who does so in the driver's seat on a hot button issue. If neither candidate can stand up to his party’s interest groups and do it, then it looks to me like the biggest issue in this election cycle will be a wash with neither candidate seizing the high ground.

Dave Cieslewicz is a Madison- and Upper Peninsula-based writer who served as mayor of Madison from 2003 to 2011. You can read more of his work at Yellow Stripes & Dead Armadillos.