Trump defends data centers in Ohio as he rallies to boost Jon Husted in a tight Senate race

VANDALIA, Ohio (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday defended data centers that power artificial intelligence projects but have become a contentious campaign issue nationwide, as he took his midterm tour to Ohio to insist his party will keep their majorities in Congress despite steep political headwinds.

Trump took several minutes during his campaign rally in southwestern Ohio to promote his administration's action on data centers, saying he was seeking to ensure they “benefit local communities" and praised Republican Sen. Jon Husted for an ill-fated attempt this week to push forward legislation on the issue.

“Look, there’s so much money to be made for Ohio. You can’t just turn them off. They’ll go to China," Trump said, repeating his defense of data centers that he had made before. The crowd, which had reacted enthusiastically as the president talked about other policies, was far more muted during the data centers remark.

Trump is embarking on what he says will be a 32-day blitz ahead of the Nov. 3 elections, hitting the deep red states of Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama this week before pivoting to Ohio, a battleground state that’s home to one of the top-tier Senate races this cycle.

Husted — who was appointed to fill the Senate vacancy left by now-Vice President JD Vance — is running to win the seat outright. There is likely no path to a Senate majority for Democrats without flipping Ohio, where former three-term Sen. Sherrod Brown is trying to return to the Senate after losing to Republican Bernie Moreno two years ago.

Since last year, Democrats have listed Ohio, along with states such as North Carolina and Maine, as key races to win control of the Senate. And this week, the head of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm said Ohio is among 10 battleground races that are “within striking distance.”

“The good news for us is that Jon Husted is a closer,” Sen. Tim Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told reporters. “We’re seeing the gap that was there between the two candidates, which was just a few points, now it is right at a dead-even race. So this is as tight as ticks, as we say in South Carolina.”

At his rallies, Trump has been trying to convince voters that the economy is better than they feel it is, even though polls show Americans are frustrated with the way he's handled it. The high cost of living, including gas prices elevated by Trump's war on Iran, is a top issue in the Dayton area, too. And just days before Trump's rally, nearly 1,400 people were laid off from a truck factory in nearby Springfield.

Trump's rally comes as Republicans worry that Husted’s campaign has failed to adequately catch fire with voters in the Republican-dominated state. Brown and allied groups have hammered Husted for his role in attracting data centers to the state when he was lieutenant governor, and the NRSC has pinpointed it as a political vulnerability.

The massive warehouse campuses powering artificial intelligence projects have become a toxic political issue, drawing bipartisan opposition in races across the country, with voters concerned about their impact on electricity prices, farmland and water supplies.

The GOP-controlled Senate tried to advance legislation this week sponsored by Husted that would ask utility regulators to effectively charge large power users more, as consumers struggle with high energy costs. But it was blocked by nearly all Democrats.

“You got to remember, Sherrod Brown was for data centers, and Jon Husted is for data centers being responsible,” Scott told reporters this week. “If a community doesn’t want them, he doesn’t want them either.”

But Trump has become one of data centers’ most vocal proponents, shrugging aside voter concerns and arguing that the U.S. cannot cede advancements in AI to China.

“Senator Jon Husted gave billions in tax breaks to Big Tech to make sure they would build their data centers in Ohio,” Brown wrote on X on Friday, ahead of Trump’s visit. “Now, he’s making Ohioans foot the bill.”

Brown’s campaign also has hammered Husted for donations he’s received from retail magnate Les Wexner, who once employed the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Husted has donated remaining Wexner contributions to an anti-human trafficking charity.

There were several Epstein-themed signs outside the Vandalia school where the rally was being held, as more than a hundred protesters lined the road with a slew of anti-Trump and anti-Husted signs.

But inside the school's gymnasium, the boisterous crowd — decked out in red “Make America Great Again” hats and “Trump 47” jerseys — greeted each Republican candidate enthusiastically as they awaited the president's arrival.

From the stage, Husted said the state had been through “hard times,” noting his dad had worked at a factory that closed down. But he said Republicans in the state had turned it around.

“We now have the most jobs and the lowest unemployment rate we’ve ever had in the history of Ohio," he said.

Meanwhile, in the governor’s race, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy faces Democrat Dr. Amy Acton, the state’s former COVID-era health director.

A wealthy biotech entrepreneur and 2024 presidential candidate, Ramaswamy’s star appeal among conservatives led to quick backing by Ohio Republicans and hopes of an easy victory in the Republican-dominated state. However, despite a massive fundraising lead and more than $12 million spent in campaign advertising, he is now locked in a close fight with Acton with weeks to go until Election Day.

“I’m so grateful to this state and to this country for giving a kid like me opportunities that would not have been available to my family in any other country on planet earth,” Ramaswamy said at the rally ahead of Trump’s arrival, as he underscored the American dream for his Indian immigrant family.

AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro in Washington and AP writer Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.

Supporters cheer before President Donald Trump arrives to speak at an event at Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an event at Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump speaks during an event at Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, left, greets attendees before President Donald Trump arrives to speaks during a midterm election rally, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Vandalia, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during a midterm election rally, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Vandalia, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, talks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump listens as a reporter asks a question, before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)

FILE - President Donald Trump listens as Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, speaks while holding up a signed resolution in the Oval Office of the White House, May 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tarik Skubal didn't waste any time throwing high heat against the Atlanta Braves. He zipped a 101 mph fastball to Austin Riley in the second before striking him out to finish off a 1-2-3 inning.

“I think I was just trying to match the temperature,” Skubal said, smiling. “It was a hot one.”

Sweating through triple-digit temperatures, Skubal tossed six dominant innings in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 5-3 victory in Game 1 of their National League Division Series on Saturday.

“Looked like he was in top form,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “We knew it was going to be a rough ride, but yeah, he did a hell of a job.”

It was the kind of performance the Dodgers sought when they acquired Skubal from the Detroit Tigers just ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline in exchange for three prospects. He is earning a record $32 million this season, won in salary arbitration while still with Detroit. He can become a free agent after the World Series.

“Tarik was fantastic,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Skubal gave up a single to Drake Baldwin leading off the game and then retired 15 consecutive batters, including striking out the side in the third.

“That always helps you maintain a little bit of stamina,” he said.

The 29-year-old left-hander started a postseason game at home for the first time in his career. His first six career playoff starts with the Tigers in 2024 and '25 all came on the road.

The game-time temperature was 100 degrees (38 Celsius), making it the second-hottest postseason game in Dodger Stadium history and just off the record of 103 set in Game 1 of the 2017 World Series. The average Los Angeles temperature in early October is 81 degrees (27 Celsius).

“This is nothing, huh?” asked Skubal, who grew up in Kingman, Arizona, and said he once played a Little League game when it was 127 degrees.

“I always say the best way to combat weather, if it’s cold or hot, is to have quick innings and get your guys back on the field hitting and getting off the mound,” he said.

Skubal was chosen as the Game 1 starter over 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is expected to start in Game 3 in Atlanta. The Braves went with four relievers in a bullpen game.

“I try to treat every start kind of the same, whether it’s a postseason start or a regular season start,” Skubal said. “I’m trying to win every single game that I’m out there pitching.”

Roberts had informed Skubal last Sunday after his final regular-season start in San Francisco that he would get the ball for the NLDS opener.

“I don’t always get to deliver good messages, and that was a good one, a fun one,” Roberts said. “With this ballclub it’s an easy kind of thought that Yoshi would be the Game 1 starter, absolutely. So Tarik was very respectful of Yoshinobu, but we have thoughts on why we do things, and all these guys are all in for whatever we decide.”

In Detroit, Skubal had a career postseason record of 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA and 56 strikeouts.

He was warmly welcomed by Dodgers fans in his home debut on Aug. 10.

“My first start here was really special to me,” Skubal said. “The ovation I got, I didn't even feel that well, and kind of just to get that reaction and get that kind of interaction with the fans, they've embraced me. I really appreciate that.”

He has spent the last couple of months learning the catchers and getting to know his new teammates while going 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 10 appearances for the Dodgers during the regular season.

“Just getting more comfortable kind of in my own skin,” Skubal said. “I think that matters and that stuff just takes time, especially when you make a big transition in the middle of the season. I feel confident with where I’m at.”

Skubal and fellow lefty Blake Snell, who will start Game 2 on Sunday, gravitated toward each other, in part because of a shared sense of humor.

“I think the level of respect we have for each other, both being left-handed starters, both accomplishing a lot in the game so far, I think that’s kind of pushed us to the curiosity of, how did you get so good? What did you do?” Snell said. “He’s extremely confident in what he’s doing, and it’s almost like a carefree, fearless type of mentality.”

Landing Skubal had the rest of baseball grumbling that the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers were ruining the sport with their huge payroll and abundance of talent, led by two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.

“From top to bottom, they’re very much aligned with trying to win championships,” Skubal said. “Everybody’s got one goal at hand. I fit right in with that. Everything that I try to do is try to win as many baseball games as I can. I’m excited to start doing that in October.”

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) smiles as he walks to the dugout after San Francisco Giants' Shay Whitcomb struck out during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal warms up during practice ahead of a baseball NL Division Series Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws during practice ahead of a baseball NL Division Series Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal speaks during a news conference ahead of a baseball NL Division Series Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)