08/25/2026
UTAH VOTERS JUST OUSTED THREE POLITICIANS WHO BACKED KEVIN O’LEARY’S MASSIVE DATA CENTER PROJECT
Three Utah politicians who supported or helped advance Kevin O’Leary’s controversial Stratos data center project were defeated in the state’s Republican primary elections.
Among them was Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, who chaired the Military Installation Development Authority and played a key role in advancing the project.
Two Box Elder County commissioners, Boyd Bingham and Lee Perry, also lost their reelection bids after voting to approve measures that helped move the massive data center development forward.
The proposed project could cover roughly 40,000 acres in Box Elder County, making it one of the most ambitious data center developments in the country.
But the proposal sparked fierce opposition from Utah residents concerned about water consumption, energy demand, environmental impacts, tax incentives and the secrecy surrounding the original approval process.
A June poll found that 60% of Utah voters opposed the project, with opposition rising even among Republican voters.
The election results don't prove the data center was the only reason the three politicians lost, but Utah political analysts say the controversy became a major factor in the races.
Despite the political backlash, O’Leary Digital says it is still moving forward with the project and that the election results do not cancel its existing approvals.
Sources: KSL, Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics, Axios, The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah Senate.