Concerns surrounding large-scale data centers have become a major theme in the 2026 election cycle. But amid opposition to constructing hyperscale facilities, a coalition called Michigan for Responsible Data Centers has taken a supportive position on these projects. 

MIRS sits down with Jeff Zilke, the director of Access Michigan – a data center equipment supplier – and Christine Simon, the government affairs vice president at the Grand Rapids Chamber. 

As the son of a United Auto Workers' member, Zilke wants to play a part of the "economic driver of the future," although he admits the scope and size of data center projects are definitely changing. Meanwhile, Simon says that even if artificial intelligence was reigned in, the need for today's new data center projects would still exist (1:10).