Alpharetta and Milton residents will choose between a statewide data center construction pause and local control when they vote for governor this fall.

Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms wants to halt new data center construction across Georgia. Republican nominee Rick Jackson says local governments should decide for themselves. The contrasting plans, reported by Fulton Neighbor, have made data centers a central campaign issue.

Campaigns have spent $12.8 million on data center ads in the governor's race, according to GPB.

Atlanta leads the nation in data center construction, with 2,882 megawatts being built, WSB-TV reported. Flexential operates a facility in Alpharetta. The closest data center to Milton sits on a 14-acre site on Union Hill Road in Alpharetta, according to Appen Media.

Milton has already acted. Its City Council unanimously enacted a moratorium on data center applications on June 15 and voted in July to consider extending the pause up to 180 days. No Alpharetta moratorium has been announced.

Two plans, one ballot

Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor, said a statewide pause would be among her first priorities as governor. She was unsure whether it could be done by executive order or would require legislation.

"Let us take a pause, assess fully, assess comprehensively, assess the impact that these data centers are having on our environment, on our utility bills, what it means to have them in communities," Bottoms said at a Sept. 29 press conference in Cobb County.

Campaign spokesperson TaNisha Cameron said the pause would be used to work with the General Assembly on statewide standards for communities, utilities, developers and residents.

Peter Hubbard, a Democrat elected to the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) in 2025, joined Bottoms and outlined four proposals: data centers should run on clean energy and pay for that infrastructure, operate without nondisclosure agreements, protect local resources and mandate union labor "wherever possible." Bottoms said she fully supports Hubbard's proposals.

Jackson, founder and CEO of Jackson Healthcare, has self-funded more than $100 million of his campaign, WABE reported. He argues communities should keep the power to accept or reject projects and use data centers to lower property taxes.

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Jackson. Chris Clark, the chamber's president and CEO, said Jackson's approach lets communities negotiate with developers while diversifying their tax base. Jackson has invested in a Texas data center that has faced local opposition, GPB reported. A Jackson spokesperson acknowledged the investment.

Local and county pushback already underway

Fulton County's Board of Commissioners approved a resolution on Aug. 5 opposing local subsidies for data center construction. Commissioners Bridget Thorne and Bob Ellis sponsored the measure. It noted that state tax incentives for data centers are estimated to cost county and city governments $1.1 billion in sales tax revenue in 2026. The Development Authority of Fulton County (DAFC) has granted $150 million in tax breaks for data centers since 2020, with half slated for one Microsoft project.

The resolution cited moratoriums in Milton and Roswell.

Data centers in Georgia are largely unregulated at the state level. Developers submit a "development of regional impact" review in early stages, but that review is a communication tool for local officials, not a regulatory mechanism. Lawmakers introduced about 20 data center bills during the 2026 legislative session. None reached the governor's desk.

New York's governor ordered the first statewide data center moratorium in July. Texas followed in August and expanded its ban in September.

What's ahead

Early voting begins Oct. 13. Election Day is Nov. 3. Republicans have held the governor's office since 2003; Gov. Brian Kemp is term-limited.

The U.S. House passed the Ratepayer Protection Act 413-3 in September, requiring data centers drawing more than 100 megawatts to pay for grid upgrades. The bill heads to the Senate.