BOUGHT AND PAID FOR: Derek Merrin Voted For Data Center Tax Breaks, Then Cashed Checks From The Companies Raking In Profits
August 19, 2026
As Ohio families get crushed by a 17% spike in summer electric bills, reporting exposes Merrin’s pay-to-play record on the data center giveaways draining Ohio taxpayers
COLUMBUS, OH – Reminder, while Ohio families are struggling with sky-high summer electric bills, Republican Derek Merrin is facing scrutiny for his record of voting to hand Big Tech billions in data center tax breaks — and then cashing campaign checks from the very companies raking in the profits. In 2017, Merrin voted for Ohio’s data center tax break scheme, signing on to shell out more than $2 billion to data centers while in the statehouse. Since then, Ohio families have footed the bill for the $2.5 billion in state and local tax incentives that Ohio data centers have received.
“Derek Merrin voted to hand billions in tax breaks to data centers at the expense of working Ohioans, who are now paying the price while Merrin pockets the profits,” said Ohio Democratic Party Communications Director Marisa Nahem. “This is exactly the kind of culture of corruption that has become a staple of Republican control and that Ohioans are sick of, which is one of the many reasons why come November, they’ll reject Merrin once again.”
Ohio is now home to more than 200 data centers, the sixth-highest in the nation. While Merrin rakes in campaign cash from PACs that have profited from over $17 million in data center tax breaks, utility bills across Ohio were projected to hit $800 this summer, a 17% jump over last year. Now, Merrin wouldn’t even comment when asked about his position on the subject.
Meanwhile, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur is calling out Merrin for his support for the data centers that are raising Ohioans’ costs, emphasizing in a new ad that she will “never give tax breaks to subsidize more data centers.” Rep. Kaptur also took to the floor of the House of Representatives to demand that data centers be held accountable: “How much more will our citizens be forced to pay for power and water? They have a right to know.”
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