“The tax exemption for data centers is around $2 billion that the state is missing out on.” Her rise started with her Jan. 8 announcement of a “Control-Alt-Delete” plan for AI that started with pausing new data center construction. State Sen. Kelda Roys, whose Madison district overlaps with Hong’s, pointed out in an interview that Hong’s proposed data center moratorium bill has nine co-sponsors in the state assembly; a different data center bill, focused on regulation, has 49 co-sponsors. The argument’s been just as lopsided in Michigan, where progressive candidates were first out with plans to limit data centers. Gretchen Whitmer appeared with OpenAI founder Sam Altman for a groundbreaking ceremony at a data center not far from the University of Michigan.