PRE-ELECTION MEMO: Data Centers rise as defining issue for state and local elections

DATE: Monday, November 2, 2026

CONTACT: Rani Sheaffer | (207) 620-8811 | rani@maineconservation.org
Dan Jenkins | (207) 577-1406 | dan@maineconservation.org 

Data Centers rise as defining issue for Maine state and local elections

2026 MCVAF Pre-Election Strategy and Ad Spend Report

AUGUSTA, ME – In the lead up to Maine’s gubernatorial election, Maine Conservation Voters Action Fund (MCVAF) emerged as one of the largest independent expenditure backers of Hannah Pingree’s campaign. MCVAF invested nearly $825,000 to help her win, highlighting her long track record as an environmental champion. This came on top of independent expenditure campaigns, which totaled more than $280,000 to support environmental champions in the state legislature.

MCVAF’s work started in the gubernatorial primary and carried through the general election. The time and investment put into these races reflects a deep organizational commitment to electing state-level leaders, who will protect Maine’s clean air and water, establish responsible guardrails for large-scale data centers, and advance affordable, clean energy solutions that lower utility bills for Maine families.

“A High-Stakes Risk That Paid Off”

Maine Conservation Voters Action Fund Endorsed in a gubernatorial primary for the first time

Gubernatorial election: Late last year, for the first time ever, MCVAF made an endorsement in a gubernatorial primary. We took this unprecedented step to support Hanah Pingree because of her proven track record of standing up to powerful corporate interests to protect Maine people and the environment.

Hannah has an extensive public record in Maine: from securing investments to prepare Maine for the impacts of climate change to holding polluters accountable and supporting clean energy jobs in our state. She led the development of a comprehensive state climate action plan and helped Mainers install over 100,000 heat pumps, saving families money while reducing emissions and our reliance on fossil fuels.

Campaign spending summary: In the primary, MCVAF was the only major independent expenditure campaign, investing in the race in support of Hannah. We spent over $825,000 across TV, digital, and direct mail. We also ran a robust social media campaign, boosting positive messages about Hannah. In the general election, we produced this digital ad promoting Hannah as a governor who will protect Maine from Big Tech and data centers. We also expanded our legislative program to give Hannah a pro-conservation majority in the State Legislature.

Data Centers and the 2026 State Legislative Elections

State of play: Data centers emerged as a hot topic in the 2026 legislative session, both in the state legislature and in communities across the state. Entering the general election season, the issue also became a top concern for Maine voters. Polling showed voters overwhelmingly agree that Maine families shouldn’t have to pay higher electric bills or sacrifice clean water, clean air, and wildlife habitat to support large-scale data centers.

From the start, our goal was to help elect a pro-environment majority to the Maine House and Senate that will be ready to tackle data center regulation in the next session. MCVAF ran a robust independent expenditure program to educate voters to draw a strong contrast between candidates who will fight for guardrails on large-scale data center development and those who voted against legislation this year to establish a moratorium on new data center construction (LD 307) and remove a large corporate tax break for data centers (LD 713).

Legislative Endorsements: Maintaining and growing the pro-conservation majorities in the State Legislature was a top priority for MCVAF. We endorsed 114 candidates for the Maine House of Representatives and 33 candidates for the Maine State Senate. The full list can be found here.

Spending and Program: MCVAF invested resources in 25 House and 9 Senate races.

• Digital: $131,467 | View ad here and here
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• Mail: $85,880 | View ads here 
• GOTV Digital: $60,000 | View Ad Here. Our GOTV ad ran across districts encouraging voters to elect leaders who will push pause on data centers up and down the ballot.

Pilot Field Organizing Program: For the first time, MCVAF ran its own field program. We hired 5 field organizers, who along with volunteers knocked on more than 4,200 doors and made over 13,250 phone calls. 

We targeted five House districts that overlapped with two Senate districts. We focused on western Maine, primarily in Androscoggin and Oxford counties, in swing districts that run from Durham to Fryeburg. These were districts where pro-environment candidates had come up short over the last several cycles and had house and senate districts that overlapped with each other.

Select quotes about MCVAF’s 2026 Independent Expenditure program:

“Given the polling we had access to, our team decided to focus our election communications on data centers, and in particular that this coming legislature may decide on establishing a moratorium on new data center construction and will likely be asked to implement recommendations by the Data Center Advisory Council. Thanks to our efforts, voters will be aware that data center regulations are on the ballot, and that our endorsed candidates are prepared to safeguard Maine’s clean water, protect the power grid, and prevent out-of-state tech corporations from driving up costs for local families.” Rani Sheaffer, Deputy Director

“We’re excited about the effect of our targeted elections program to help elect conservation leaders in swing districts. These will be legislators who understand the concerns that rapid development of large scale data centers pose for communities, water sources, and quality of life. We’re confident that, if elected, these candidates will be ready to address the crucial issues as the legislature grapples with how to properly protect communities before allowing construction of large scale data centers here in Maine.” Dan Jenkins, Political Director

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