The race between Elizabeth Ferris and Darren Thorne for state Senate comes down to two words – data centers.
National polls show Americans overwhelmingly oppose building data centers in their communities. A recent Gallup poll found that 71% of Americans oppose building AI data centers in their areas. Only 7% strongly favor these projects.
And in the 15th Senatorial District in West Virginia – encompassing all of Hampshire County, all of Morgan County and the western portion of Berkeley County – the issue is red hot.
At the Morgan Messenger candidate forum in Berkeley Springs earlier this year, Republican and Democratic candidates spoke out against data centers – except for Thorne, who was mum on the issue.
Senator Thorne doesn’t want to talk about it – he did not return calls seeking comment for this article. (We wanted to know – Do you regret the vote? Would you vote for it again given what you now know?) When we called him earlier this year about the wretched state of some of the bunkers at the golf course at Cacapon State Park, he happily engaged.
But when it comes to the proliferation of data centers throughout the state of West Virginia – nothing.
And that’s because he voted for a bill — HB 214 — that made West Virginia the only state in the union that strips localities of their authority to challenge data centers in their communities.
And he knows that the issue of data centers is the one issue that could lead to an upset victory for Ferris in November.
Ferris understands Thorne’s vulnerability and has placed data centers at the top of her issues agenda.
“In 2025, my opponent voted with the super majority in Charleston to strip local communities of all decision-making power when it comes to AI data centers and to send 70% of the revenue from these centers back to Charleston,” Ferris writes on her website.
“I will vote to restore community voices, keep data centers away from neighborhoods, and enforce strong protections for our water, electricity rates, and quality of life.”
Appearing earlier this year on the local conservative radio talk show Eastern Panhandle Talk, Ferris advocated for restoring local control over data centers and won over the three hosts – Rob Mario, John Gilstrap and Bill Stubblefield.
“The things you have spoken about today don’t seem very left wing to me,” Gilstrap said. “There are only three Democrats in the West Virginia Senate. Why not run as a Republican?”
“I’m a lifelong Democrat,” Ferris responded. “My grandmother on my dad’s side – she was born to a house painter in South Dakota. And when I grew up, I saw that it was the Democratic Party that was the working folks’ party. Now that has shifted. But I would like to see it shift back.”
