Rushern Baker Calls for Moratorium on Data Centers in Maryland, Urges Fellow Candidates to Join Him
For Immediate Release • Friday, May 8, 2026
Baker: "My priority will be making sure Maryland families—not Big Tech and crypto interests—come first."
Statement comes as crypto and Big Tech backed outside groups spend more than $3 million in MD-05 race
Prince George’s County, MD—Rushern Baker, candidate for Maryland’s 5th Congressional District, today called for an immediate moratorium on new data center construction in Maryland and urged every candidate in the race to support the same pause. Baker pointed to growing concerns from communities across the state about rising energy costs, strained infrastructure, unchecked development, and public health risks.
Baker said voters deserve transparency about where candidates stand on the issue, particularly given that candidate Adrian Boafo works as a federal lobbyist for Oracle Corporation and was listed on federal lobbying disclosures involving data center and cloud infrastructure issues. Baker also pointed to the growing influence of the cryptocurrency industry in the race, where crypto-aligned outside groups have already spent more than $3 million supporting Boafo in this election.
"Data centers are raising energy bills, straining infrastructure, threatening our environment, raising legitimate public health concerns, and changing communities across Maryland. Families deserve leaders who are willing to stand up to powerful tech and corporate interests—not candidates whose campaigns are being bankrolled by them,” said Baker. "In Congress, I’ll fight to end the federal subsidies and tax incentives fueling this unchecked expansion, push for stronger protections for ratepayers and local communities. My priority will be making sure Maryland families—not Big Tech and crypto interests—come first."
The announcement comes amid growing community opposition to data center expansion across Maryland, particularly in Prince George's County, Frederick County, and Southern Maryland, where residents have raised concerns about rising electricity costs, water consumption, environmental impacts, and the impact on local communities. A recent Gallup poll found that seven in ten Americans oppose data center construction in their communities—with opposition especially intense among Democrats.
Baker also pointed to a Washington Post report published today finding that Virginia data centers are now connected to more than 10,000 diesel generators and that pollution from those generators could worsen respiratory and cardiovascular conditions across the region, raising new concerns about the public health consequences of unchecked data center expansion.
“Maryland families should not be asked to trade clean air, affordable energy, and community character so billion-dollar tech companies can build first and answer questions later," Baker added. "The burden of this industry is increasingly falling on the people who live nearby.”
Baker served as Prince George's County Executive from 2010 to 2018, where he built a record of delivering results for working families. He noted that the data center fight is inseparable from core economic concerns: soaring electricity bills, strained infrastructure, and the question of who bears the costs of an AI boom that enriches a handful of tech billionaires.
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