Three of the top Democratic candidates in the race for the open seat in Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District are wary of the rapid growth of data centers in Northern Nevada, they said recently during a statewide televised debate on Nevada Newsmakers.

Opponents may claim that some of the candidates' points may not be valid in terms of energy use and water. However, the candidates show a deep concern as the industry continues to expand. More than 40 data center facilities are either operating, under construction or have been approved in the area as of April of this year, according to local reports.

Last week, the Reno City Council voted unanimously to revise data-center use requirements and start a process that could lead to stricter controls. The council is also expected to consider a possible moratorium on new data-center approvals at a future meeting, according to News 4 Reno.

"We need to call a timeout on data centers and stop and look at the policies that have enabled -- especially within the past couple of years -- these data centers to mushroom up under our noses overnight," said Teresa Benitez-Thompson, the former three-session Assembly Majority Leader at the Legislature. "The concerns that we hear about the use of water and the use of vital resources in Nevada are very important."

Benitez-Thompson stressed the value of water in the driest state in the U.S.

Nevada averages less than 10 inches of precipitation annually, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- less than any other state

"We have a saying here in Nevada, you fight for gold, but you kill for water. That's how important of a resource it (water) is to us," she said.

Greg Kidd, a wealthy investor from Crystal Bay who is running for this seat in Congress for the second time, said data centers don't fit in the Northern Nevada landscape. He is also against giving data-center owners breaks on taxes for building in Nevada.

"Nevada is a state that's limited on water and we have our own challenges on power," Kidd said. "And so data centers aren't a good fit with what Nevada is about.

"So right now, data centers don't make a strategic fit from the way I see Nevada's position," he added. "Even though I'm a tech guy, it doesn't seem like a fit for our state."

Kidd later clarified his stance: "So I didn't say I was against data centers. I just said they weren't a good fit for Nevada. What I specifically said is we shouldn't be chasing data centers. We've been setting up tax benefits to bring these centers here. That doesn't make sense. We shouldn't be falling over backwards to bring them in. I didn't support a moratorium, but they'd have to cost justify to come here and not put a burden on our grid."

Kathy Durham, who teaches government, history and economics at West Wendover High School, fears data centers are part of the new technologies that will eventually take away jobs for people of Nevada.

"Data centers drive up our energy cost," Durham said. "Data centers drink up our precious water. Data centers are kicking people off of the electrical grid.  But let's talk about what data centers are for. They are for building this AI system that is coming for our jobs ... "AI is looking to replace people and our jobs, and we cannot have that."

Instances of people getting kicked off the electrical grid because of data centers could not be verified. 

Much of the data center growth in Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District is centered around the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center in Storey County. Kris Thompson, the transaction coordinator for Lance Gilman Commercial Real Estate Services, which developed TRI, said in an unrelated Facebook defense of data centers that they are very frugal with water.

"Water consumption by data centers is declining as they are leading the way on technology to reduce the water needed for cooling," Thompson said. "And, they recycle the water internally nine times. TMWA (Truckee Meadows Water Authority) has repeatedly said they have more than enough water to handle the projected growth for at least the next five years. So please can we stop the torches-and-pitchfork carrying mob lynching of data centers and talk facts moving forward?"

Data centers were just one of many topics the candidates covered in the debate that stretched over two days. All three candidates are trying to become the first Democrat to win the 2nd U.S. House District seat since the district was created after the 1980 census. Republicans have represented the 2nd U.S. House District for the past 44 years.

Why they are the best candidate

Durham said her rural roots, including her time on the West Wendover City Council, help make her the best candidate among Democrats.

"I'm the best candidate because, first of all, I have the life-lived experience of knowing what it's like to live in the rurals and what those issues are. The base of the population is in Reno and Tahoe. But the rest of the district, which is the fifth largest congressional district in the nation, is rural. And I know what it's like to have that experience. And I'm also the only one in the race that's ever run against a Republican incumbent for a seat (on the city council) and taken them on and won that seat. And I think my experience as a teacher, a city councilor and a rural Nevadan is what sets me up to be the best candidate."

Kidd said he already has a good working knowledge of how Congress works since he has experience lobbying members of Congress for the Federal Reserve. He worked as a senior analyst in the payments division of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve from 2002 to 2004, according to various reports.

"So I'm very bipartisan by nature," he said. "I'm also not from the system, even though I've been in politics for a long time, from a public-policy point of view. But I'm really going to be speaking to a whole bunch of different folks, some are very traditional party people. There are also some other people out there that are double-party haters and the biggest group of voters in this district are non-partisans.

Benitez-Thompson said the voters of Nevada's Congressional District 2 (CD-2) care more about the person than the party. She said Nevada is a purple state (mixture or GOP, non-partisans and Democrats).

"...People will vote for who they know over preference for a party line," said, Benitez-Thompson, who was Miss Nevada in 2002 and placed fourth overall in the 2003 Miss America pageant.

"We have a number of Nevadans who want to know who their representative is, who want to feel like they've got a responsive representative in their community, and they care most that that person is listening to them before they care whether they have a D or an R after their name," she said.

"So I'm about meeting people," she added. "I'm about those interpersonal relationships. I'm about connecting. That's always what I've been about, is my nature of who I am."

Immigration reform

All three candidates support some type of immigration reform. For Kidd, the key element for CD-2 is the implementation of a strong guest-worker program that would benefit Nevada construction, farming, ranching and other economic sectors.

"Immigration reform really needs to include a guest-worker program," Kidd said. "So immigrants are permanent. Guest workers are here for a temporary period of time. We're really suffering on (the lack of) guest workers. Some of those are relatively unskilled. They might be agricultural workers. Some are skilled, like builders or healthcare technicians. Others are folks who are going to be coming over for very high-end tech jobs that we just don't have enough people to fill here.

"So in addition to full immigration reform, there needs to be an immediate guest-worker program to address the labor shortage we have here, which is driving up costs," Kidd added. "This is a real key area for America to maintain its economic competitiveness."

Durham wants secure borders.

"I'm a law-and-order person," she said. "That's why I'm running, because I believe that the checks and balances and separation of powers that are put in place by the Constitution are not being upheld, and Congress is not doing its job on either side (House and Senate).

"First of all, let's start with rehiring all of the judges that we laid off who process the asylum claims and all of the other claims for immigration," she added. "We need to look at lowering the cost of attorney fees so that people who want to come here are able to do so legally."

Washington D.C. needs to change its perspective on immigration reform, Benitez-Thompson said.

"I think of what's happened right now is that we're not having a policy-driven, solution-driven conversation," she said. "We've got a conversation that is being dominated by fear and xenophobia, and we've seen that fear and xenophobia play out in aggressive federal overreach in communities throughout our nation.

The federal enforcement of immigration laws need substantial changes, said Benitez-Thompson, a social worker by trade.

"One of the biggest things that Congress has to do is substantially change and reform ICE and DHS policies to make sure that we have good policing that focuses on violent criminals, not targeting innocent workers and not targeting Americans. A great  Wall Street Journal article that was out last month talked about how many Americans have been arrested and detained because they were exercising their First Amendment right to protest these federal actions."

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that there has been a steep increase of arrests of U.S. citizens protesting or obstructing federal immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, with a 300% increase in federal assault charges against U.S. citizens.

Need for land in CD-2

Many Nevada cities and towns are growing and want to expand. Officials in the City of Sparks, for example, say the city is out of land and needs a federal-land transfer to keep growing. Sparks is not alone. Expansion plans for many municipalities often hinge on the ability to buy federal land from the U.S. government. It has become a complicated task. The federal government owns approximately 80.1 percent to 85 percent of the land in Nevada, which is the highest percentage of federal land ownership of any state in the U.S.

Kidd said he would not repeat mistakes made by current CD-2 Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City.

"I'm going to make sure what happened under Mark Amodei in this last administration never happens again. He did a midnight special, tried to sell off some of our land to create tax payoffs for the Big, Beautiful Bill (pushed by the Trump Administration). And he did it without the other congressmen and women from Nevada. I think there should be actual state legislation to guarantee that will never happen again. Anything that we do with land, we should do it as Nevadans for Nevada. It should be for Nevada first and not for paying off tax breaks that are in the Big, Beautiful Bill."

Benitez-Thompson is concerned that proposed cuts to federal agencies will damage natural resources in Nevada.

"The piece that is especially concerning and dangerous is the President's proposed budget for fiscal year 2027," she said. "You look at the federal agencies that we have partnerships with here throughout Northern Nevada to protect and manage our lands. And a number of those budgets are being severely reduced or in some cases, even zeroed out. United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, you look at what's happening with these agencies.

"If there were a big fire in Nevada, we couldn't afford to fight that or mitigate that on our own without these partnerships," Benitez-Thompson continued. "So when I see red lines being drawn through these (federal) budgets, I get scared and I get worried. There's a line in there reversing back funds for fuel management. Fuel management is how do we prevent fires in Nevada. There's a line that would completely zero out our wild-horse management in Northern Nevada.

"There's a lot to be concerned about," she added. "And there's a lot that we have to worry about with this administration. We, quite frankly, need a stronger voice in Congress that's going to openly oppose these cuts. "

Durham's love for the rustic lands of Nevada go back to her youth.

"When I was going into my sophomore year, I got to go work for the Forest Service for the week. And that was a great, great job for me. My dad used to take me camping and survival hiking and I have a deep appreciation for our lands," she said. "And it drives me crazy to see the development that takes place on our lands for the for the purpose of profit. And we need to make sure that we are protecting our lands so that we can get out there and enjoy them. And not just look at them as something that we can make a profit off of."

Do-nothing Congress

Durham sees a self-serving problem among congressional representatives that is blocking new legislation.

"Congress hasn't done this job on a lot of things, and I think immigration is probably one of the largest things that it hasn't
done its job on, because if they do, if they fix immigration, what are they going to run on?" Durham said.

Said Benitez-Thompson: "They (members of Congress) have been derelict in their duty to protect American citizens. And I don't think we have to look much further than our own Congressional District-2 here to say that we had, our congressman (Mark Amodei) in a position of leadership who was building out these Homeland Security budgets, wanting more and more money for these budgets, and hasn't been responsive about what we've seen play out with ICE in our communities. So we can start within our own backyard to say, this is how we change."

Said Kidd: "So under the Biden administration, there was immigration reform put on the table by a Republican, actually from the state where I do some business in, Oklahoma," he said, referring to Sen. James Lankford. "And, you know, a lot of Democrats were for that. And then the Republicans kind of torched it because they didn't want the problem to be solved.

"But my point is, there are Democrats and Republicans who realize this is a problem," Kidd added. "And we'll work together, if you just take certain toxic elements out. I will be one of those persons who will reach across the aisle, and we will get a bipartisan consensus on this. We did it for the prison industry. Conservatives and progressives got together. We got prison reform. Even in a divided Congress, we can do it for immigration."

On the fact that 27 candidates (GOP, Democrat & non-partisan) are in the running for CD-2

Benitez Thompson: "I believe it's a great sign of a healthy, flourishing democracy. We want people to be engaged and involved in our civic processes. This excites me. I know that there's been a group of candidates that have come together and they've been trying to encourage other candidates to drop out, and I could not be more opposed to that notion.

"We need to provide the electorate with a diverse range of people who have diverse thoughts and opinions," she added. "That, to me is a sign of a very healthy electorate. Having people engaged is a good thing. I would never want to discourage it in any way.

Kidd: "Well, they did it in Hungary. Viktor Orban is out. So when people get riled up there's changes. And I have never seen Northern Nevada so riled up. The No Kings marches. Just the reception that we're getting going out in the rurals. This is Northern Nevada like we've never seen it before. And so if it's ever going to happen (a Democrat winning CD-2), it's going to happen this time. And so people are riled up all across the country and they're riled up right here in Northern Nevada."

Durham: "Democracy is on the line. And that's why people are so riled up in Nevada. People are waking up and seeing what is going on at the national level, that democracy is on the line.

"When you have somebody that is abusing their powers, when you have Congress that has ceded their powers and does not stand up to the executive branch, that lets you know that you're on your way to an authoritarian slide. And I'm very glad and very happy and very hopeful that many people are starting to wake up. And that's why we're seeing the success of the No Kings marches and the rallies."

Random questions

Durham on her strong online campaign

"Well, we'll find out (if it helps win votes). We haven't had the primary yet. But I think I've got my presence out there, and I've been able to reach a lot of people. I mean, this is a big, big district, as I've already mentioned. And, traveling it back and forth while I'm still working full time teaching, I think it's going to translate really well.

"I think it (online campaign) has been able to help me get my voice out and to hear the voices of others, because that's really what this job interview is about. It's about me putting myself out there. But more importantly, it's about me learning who these people are, what their needs are, and how I can best serve them. And hopefully it's going to work out really well for us."

Benitez-Thompson on Nevada's lack of affordable housing

"So (at the Nevada Legislature), I brought back the Housing Advisory Council, which the state had gotten rid of in 2019. I looked around and I was like, we have to have conversations about housing. Where's the group that has this conversation? And I was told, 'Well, it went by the way. Business and industry got rid of it.'

"I said, 'We're reestablishing that committee.' And then I gave that committee a bill draft resolution, so that every session they could bring a bill to talk about policies and changes needed in law in order to encourage affordable housing and direct money and resources to affordable housing."

She also mentioned a legislative battle she fought but did not win.

"A bill that I couldn't get out of committee, but I championed in 2021, said that for every GOED (Governor's Office of Economic Development) abatement a company gets, they need to put 10 percent into the Nevada Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Great idea. I still believe in it. We still have to keep working towards it. "

Kidd on ability to self-fund his campaign. Is he trying to buy a seat in Congress?

"I am able to self-fund. I've been very successful in my business career, but I certainly hope to not buy it," he said.

He mentioned his 2024 campaign for Congress when he ran with No Political Party and when the Democrats did not field a candidate.

"I have to admit, in 2024, I was pretty lonely," he said. "Nobody else was running. And on this campaign for this primary, I'm trying not to spend much money. I'm actually just really enjoying it. We just got back from a little rural tour, and so I'm super excited that this seat is now open. It's competitive. I will spend what it takes to make it happen, and if I'm not the candidate, I'll be backing someone else."