SARASOTA, Fla. (September 29, 2026). Dean Abrams, independent candidate for Governor, said today that as governor he will move to ban new AI data centers in Florida, calling them a threat to the state's environment and its people.
Abrams pointed to three risks:
- Water: Florida is a hurricane zone with a shallow water table, and hyperscale facilities draw heavily on fresh water for cooling.
- Power bills: Residential ratepayers should never subsidize a data center's electricity or the grid upgrades built for it.
- Surveillance: At this scale, these facilities are surveillance infrastructure, and nobody is asked to vote on that part.
His plan:
- Ban new AI data centers in Florida
- No public subsidies, tax exemptions, or special utility rate deals
- Facilities already operating pay their full costs for water, energy, waste heat, noise, and grid impact
- A statewide water use and data center impact review in his first 100 days
"Washington is pushing these facilities into every state, including ours," said Abrams. "Florida's water, power grid, and privacy are not raw materials for someone else's server farm. As governor, I will move to stop new ones from being built here."
Abrams has called for an end to new AI data centers in Florida since June.
Announcement: Dean Abrams on X
Media contact: Dean Abrams · dean@deanabrams.com · 941-233-4951
About Dean Abrams: Dean Abrams is a No Party Affiliation candidate for Governor of Florida. He spent 30 years in enterprise technology and management consulting, including Microsoft, HP, KPMG, and Avanade. His campaign is self-funded and accepts no PAC or corporate money.