AI data centers are coming for federal land and roiling Nevada governor's race

Data center projects on federal land have become a defining fight in Nevada's governor's race after the Bureau of Land Management approved the Townsite data center near Boulder City, the first such approval on public land nationwide. PBS NewsHour reports that developers dropped a private-land application after residents objected, then turned to neighboring federal acreage. Construction is stalled because a judge barred the government from relying on an earlier environmental review written when the site was meant for solar power.

Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, among the GOP's most exposed incumbents, accepts such projects on public land if communities back them, and has signed an agreement with the Trump administration to speed infrastructure. Aaron Ford, the Democratic nominee and state attorney general, would instead put housing first and resist siting on public land. Each candidate says data centers must obey state rules or forfeit tax abatements. University of Nevada Las Vegas political scientist David Damore says both have blurred their positions.

Janelle Sorenson says locals were shut out of the decision. Autumn McGrath-Shook, who switched to the Green Party, is torn over whom to back.

Summarized by PolitiKool from PBS NewsHour’s reporting. Read the full story at PBS NewsHour →