In today’s edition … A big night of primaries in America … You give us your podcast recommendations… but first …
The big news
Polls had democratic socialist Francesca Hong up big in the race to be Democrats’ gubernatorial nominee in Wisconsin. But, wow, were those polls wrong.
David Crowley, the top elected official in Milwaukee County, won the primary early this morning. Crowley’s win was a clear upset and gave the Democratic establishment a surprise win over the party’s surging left flank.
My colleague Patrick Marley has more on the race from Madison, and you can find the rest of last night’s primary results lower in the newsletter. But Hong’s loss represents a cautionary tale for Democrats’ left — the state representative spent the final days of the campaign responding to past comments about abolishing the police and canceling Thanksgiving — and Crowley’s win caps a topsy-turvy race that saw the Democrat drop out of the primary in July, get back into the race with Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement days later and then win the contest early this morning. Just bizarre.
Crowley will now face Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in November.
Are data centers enough to flip a key House race?
Will Lawrence was bullish when I asked him about where the proliferation of data centers fits into his pitch to oust Republican Rep. Tom Barrett.
“I see it as one of the central issues eroding public trust in this district,” Lawrence told me days after becoming the Democratic nominee in the mid-Michigan district around Lansing. “And for that reason, it is essential.”
Lawrence is just one of the many candidates nationwide — Democrats and Republicans — running on their opposition to data center projects, and data centers have gone from an almost entirely anonymous topic to a political issue so potent that candidates are desperate to use them in their campaigns. Communities nationwide are seeking to restrict the growth of data centers, and the opposition cuts across party lines.
“Above all, it’s about the question of control: Who decides?” Lawrence said of the issues of political power. “And people experience this as a very acute example of how our economy has been taken over by these billionaires who are now buying out the entire political process.”
Lawrence’s strategy here is compelling. He is coming off a notably bruising primary against former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam, both of whom represented the more establishment wing of the Democratic Party. Now Lawrence, who co-founded the climate policy-focused Sunrise Movement and is a former member of the Democratic Socialists of America, must unite left-wing voters while also winning over skeptical Republicans in the district, which President Donald Trump narrowly carried in 2024.
Lawrence told us he joined the local data center opposition during the primary and clearly saw their political power. It’s an issue he appears to hope will not only unify his party, but also bring in more right-leaning voters in his district.
That is where his new ad comes in. Lawrence isn’t just talking about the issue with me: He is putting money behind the push, too.
His campaign will begin airing an ad titled “Michigan First” centered on a proposed data center project in Mason, Michigan. The proposed data center has faced fervent opposition from local groups. And Lawrence’s ad, the first of his general election campaign, attempts to link Barrett to the project.
“Congressman Tom Barrett wants to turn this field into a data center,” Lawrence says in the spot, with an image of the proposed land in Mason. “I’m Will Lawrence, and I’m running for Congress to stop these data centers and put mid-Michigan first.”
The links between the Mason project and Barrett are tenuous, at best. Lawrence’s ad cites Barrett’s vote for the One, Big Beautiful Bill Act, a bill that did help data center interests, and an email from Lawrence’s campaign cited money Barrett has taken from utilities and other votes the Republican had taken in Congress.
But Barrett told me that his position on the possible Mason data center is that it should be decided by locals in the area, not a member of Congress.
“My position is that this has to be decided by the locals. I don’t live in Mason. I live in the county adjacent to that. And I’ve been very clear that we should not be overriding local governments from Washington, D.C.,” he said. “And we shouldn’t have either bureaucrats or officials from Washington directing or not directing data centers and local communities.”
Barrett was fully aware of the power of data centers as a political issue and, like Lawrence, cited trust when asked why data centers have become so potent.
“We have a low-trust society right now. People don’t trust large institutions,” he said, citing politicians, the media and industry. “People have no trust in any of these institutions. So when they tell them this is going to benefit them, they rightfully have a concern about whether or not the information they’re receiving is candid and truthful and everything else.”
Stevie O’Hanlon, a spokesperson for Lawrence’s campaign, said “talk is cheap” when pressed on Barrett’s position on the Mason data center and stood by the spot.
But Lawrence’s attempt to claim Barrett’s support for this specific data center project speaks to the lengths to which candidates will go to attack their opponents on the issue.
And that’s because the polling on data center opposition is stark.
Gallup found earlier this year that 7 in 10 Americans oppose data centers being built in their area. Similarly, a Reuters/Ipsos poll earlier this year found just 1 in 3 Americans approve of the pace at which data centers are being built, with a staggering 77 percent telling the pollsters that they are concerned data centers will raise their electricity costs.
My colleague Molly Hennessy-Fiske recently published a fantastic piece about how opposition to data centers has fired up conservative voters in rural Texas, not exactly a bastion for progressive politics.
Trump, however, has firmly positioned Republicans as the pro-data center party. “If I were governor, I would want data centers so badly,” he told Punchbowl News last week, calling opposition to them a “mistake” and arguing that economically “data centers could be bigger than oil.” While his administration has taken steps to try to protect consumers from absorbing the great electrical demands of data centers, Trump has been an unabashed proponent of the projects. But the polling shows this may be one issue where Trump’s Republican base is not willing to follow him.
Barrett declined to take a position on what Trump has said about data centers — “I don’t take positions on other people’s positions,” he said — but reiterated that where to site data centers is a local, not federal, issue.
“People shouldn’t want Washington, D.C., deciding where to site data centers,” he said. “The people in the communities have to decide that for themselves.”
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Our picks
- Pirro, in a rare move, convenes special grand jury in Washington, from Perry Stein and Salvador Rizzo.
- Bulldozing begins at Big Bend National Park for border construction, from Jake Spring and Arelis R. Hernández.
- Reporter breaks 26-year silence on briefing that preceded Clinton’s plane swap, from Scott Nover.
- How utility and tech firms ‘educate’ regulators with big donations, secret retreats, from Evan Halper.
What we’re watching
What an interesting primary night.
The Republican primary to replace Sen. Lindsey Graham is not over yet. Sen. Darline Graham, the late senator’s sister, and Rep. Ralph Norman will advance to a runoff election to become Republican’s Senate nominee in South Carolina. That runoff will be on August 25.
Rep. John Larson became the latest aging Democratic incumbent to lose a reelection bid this year, with the 78-year-old conceding his primary race to Luke Bronin, the former mayor of Hartford. Democrats’ reckoning over their gerontocracy — spurred by former president Joe Biden — has had a real impact on the party this year. And another Democratic test on age awaits next month in Democrats’ Senate primary in Massachusetts.
And Rebecca Cooke is Democrats’ nominee in a must-win district for the party in southwestern Wisconsin. She fended off a stouter-than-expected challenge from the left by Emily Berge, the former Eau Claire City Council president.
In your local paper
Ohio Capital Journal: The Ohio publication found voters restless and eager for accountability in Rep. Max Miller’s House district. “I can’t believe that they haven’t just kicked his butt out of there,” one voter said.
Michigan Advance: Michigan voters will have a chance to cast a ballot on money in politics this November. If the proposal passes, some of the state’s biggest political spenders — namely PACs tied to major health care companies and utilities — would restrict their political spending.
Nevada Current: The Bug and Fred Mountain Fires continue to grow, with Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo declaring a state of emergency for Washoe County.
From you
You all are very into political podcasts.
Most of the submissions we got were in the political realm — from The Bulwark with Tim Miller to Talking Feds.
I will give you my recommendations first: I have recently been very into Paternal, a podcast about fatherhood by journalist Nick Firchau. He books great guests, and since it has been on since 2017, I’ve been making my way through the archives. As the father of two boys — a one-year-old and a four-year-old — it’s a great listen.
Nelson Woehrle suggested “Lunch with Shelley,” an interview podcast that is D.C. focused with Shelley S. Hymes.
“Interviews draw on personal experiences of people from politics, diplomacy, media and lobbying. It is so interesting to see beyond the public facade of people we see in the media all the time,” Woehrle wrote.
Jennifer Francis suggested “Not a Climate Scientist,” a podcast hosted by Heather Goldstone that looks at how climate change is impacting the lives of, well, people who aren’t climate scientists.
“She speaks with folks affected by climate change in their various walks of life, including a firefighter, urban designer, Navy admiral, doctor, chef, and others,” Francis wrote.
And Sonja Czarnecki, a loyal reader and history teacher, asked for a shout-out to her own podcast: “In Walks A Woman: Women, History, and the Stories that Shaped Us.”
Czarnecki started it after the 2024 election when she texted her friend Vanessa Eicher about starting their own podcast. “How hard can it be?” she asked. The podcast looks at history and literature from a woman’s perspective. I listened to their review of “The Odyssey” — and the women of Homer’s great work — while writing this.
Send a reply
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), facing a tough reelection fight, chose former mayor John Giles, a lifelong Republican who recently became an independent, to be her running mate. What do you think of this decision? In the era of ultra-partisanship, do more bipartisan pairings like this make sense? Let me and your fellow Early Brief readers know at [email protected].
Thanks for reading. You can follow Dan on X at @merica.
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