Michigan GOP chairman says Republicans misplayed data centers
LANSING — State Sen. Jim Runestad, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, said on Friday, Nov. 6, that some GOP candidates had mishandled the debate over data centers and government transparency in the months leading up to the midterm election. Runestad said he had spoken to other Republican leaders, whom he didn't identify, and was "flabbergasted" by the way they approached data center developments. “I said, 'You guys are just not following where the people are,'" Runestad said. “Nobody wants these corporations to come in and run over the local community.” The veteran White Lake Township lawmaker made the comments on The Detroit News Political Insider podcast , three days after Republicans nationally suffered defeats up and down the ballot. In Michigan, Democrats were victorious in races for the U.S. Senate, governor, attorney general and secretary of state, while also winning their largest number of seats in the state Legislature in more than four decades. Runestad said he realized before Election Day that his party was in for a difficult night on Nov. 3. "When I left the house, my wife said, ‘How do you think it’s going to go?' And I said, 'I think it’s going to be horrendous.
