Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, a longtime lawmaker who helped define the state's 'Utah Way' on immigration, elections and LGBTQ rights, lost his primary election in June after a backlash over a proposed AI data center campus in rural Box Elder County. Adams blamed the defeat on misconceptions about the project, while critics pointed to a lack of public input and broader concerns about legislative power.
Stuart Adams, who served as Utah Senate president for eight years and spent nearly three dozen years in public office, lost his June primary after controversy erupted over the Stratos data center proposal, a project he helped fast-track with celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary. The project, approved with significant property tax relief by the Military Installation Development Authority, a statewide zoning entity Adams chaired, was billed as one of the largest in the world. Adams described it as a national security imperative to prevent China from dominating AI technology.
Adams said the backlash was based on misinformation. "They had misconceptions about the water; they had misconceptions about a lot of the elements," he told the Deseret News. He also blamed the data center blowup on "untruths" and the fact that "the Senate president was running for reelection." By June, Adams had publicly asked O'Leary to shrink the project; by election night, two-thirds of his Republican constituents had voted to oust him.
Adams' career included infrastructure investment, international diplomacy and the collaborative style associated with the "Utah Way." He sponsored a 2015 law balancing religious freedom and LGBTQ nondiscrimination, and worked to preserve Utah's vote-by-mail system and immigrant integration policies. Former Gov. Gary Herbert said Adams "threaded the needle" on the 2015 law, and that his approach was based on common-sense principles, not party-line coercion.
But critics saw a pattern of legislative overreach. State Sen. Kathleen Riebe, a Democrat, said the streamlined approval of Stratos was not an outlier but part of a broader trend under Adams of legislative leaders overriding the work of individual lawmakers and approving developments against local wishes. She said frustrated voters are right to demand greater transparency and accountability in government processes that affect their quality of life.
Darrell West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said the speed with which public opinion has turned against data centers has been extraordinary, with concerns about energy and water use becoming a proxy for broader AI anxiety. "Secrecy is always corrosive of the public mood," West said. "And when people don't know what's going on, they often assume the worst case."
Adams remains confident in Utah's future and hopes to "stay involved." "I'm not perfect, but I've given it my very best effort to try to make the state the best state in America," he said. State senators will vote on the next president on Nov. 6.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The ouster of a top state lawmaker over AI data center development signals growing public skepticism that could slow or reshape similar projects across the country.
- The backlash highlights tensions between rapid technological growth, national security arguments, and local governance transparency.
- Adams' defeat may embolden communities elsewhere to challenge large-scale data center proposals and demand greater input.
Background
Stuart Adams served as Utah Senate president for eight years, helping drive the state's economic growth and bipartisan collaboration on issues such as immigration and LGBTQ rights. He chaired the Military Installation Development Authority, a statewide zoning entity that approved the Stratos data center campus near the Great Salt Lake. The project, backed by investor Kevin O'Leary, was billed as one of the largest in the world. Adams argued it was essential to counter China's advancements in AI, but the lack of public input and concerns over energy and water use fueled a backlash that cost him his seat in the June primary.
Key Perspectives
Stuart Adams: Blames his defeat on misconceptions about the data center's water usage and other aspects, and says the project's national security importance was misunderstood. He defends the use of MIDA as an appropriate vehicle and remains optimistic about Utah's future.
Sen. Kathleen Riebe (D-Cottonwood Heights): Says voters are right to demand greater transparency and accountability, and that the Stratos approval is part of a broader pattern of legislative leaders overriding local wishes.
Darrell West (Brookings Institution): Says secrecy corrodes public trust and that data centers have become a proxy for broader AI anxiety, leading to the ouster of local officials in Utah, Missouri, and Georgia.
What to Watch
- The Nov. 6 vote by Utah state senators to choose the next Senate president, which could signal a shift in legislative priorities.
- Whether the Stratos data center project proceeds with the scaled-back scope Adams requested in June.
- Whether similar primary challenges emerge in other states where data center projects have sparked local opposition.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedAdams was ousted in his primary after a backlash over the AI data center project.Deseret News Politics: “Then, in June, he became one of America’s most prominent victims of voter angst over artificial intelligence infrastructure.”
- SupportedTwo-thirds of Adams’s Republican constituents voted to oust him.Deseret News Politics: “By the end of election night, Adams was staring at results that showed two-thirds of his Republican constituents had voted to oust him.”
- SupportedAdams lost his June primary after backlash over a proposed data center campus in rural Box Elder County.Deseret News Politics: “In January, Adams and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox met with celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary to discuss planting a data center campus, billed as one of the largest in the world, in Box Elder County, a rural area north of the Great Salt Lake.”
- SupportedAdams said the backlash was based on misconceptions about the project.Deseret News Politics: “AI data center backlash, Adams said, was based largely on inaccurate beliefs.”
- SupportedAdams said, “They had misconceptions about the water; they had misconceptions about a lot of the elements.”Deseret News Politics: ““They had misconceptions about the water; they had misconceptions about a lot of the elements,” he said.”
- SupportedAdams blamed the data center blowup on “untruths” and the Senate president running for reelection.Deseret News Politics: “He blamed the data center blowup on “untruths,” and the fact that “the Senate president was running for reelection.””
- SupportedAdams helped fast-track the Stratos project with investor Kevin O’Leary.Deseret News Politics: “In trying to fast-track infrastructure for the new tech landscape, Adams had failed to convey his vision.”
- Partly supportedFormer Gov. Gary Herbert said Adams “threaded the needle” on the 2015 law.Deseret News Politics: ““We threaded the needle and brought both sides together,” he told the Deseret News. “I got calls from governors about every week for a couple of months, saying, ‘How did you do that?’ ... And a lot of the credit goes to Stuart Adams.””
- SupportedRiebe said Stratos’s streamlined approval was part of a broader pattern of legislative leaders overriding individual lawmakers and approving developments against local wishes.Deseret News Politics: “The streamlined approval of Stratos is not an outlier, but rather part of a broader pattern of Adams’ GOP majority allocating tax dollars and approving developments against the wishes of local residents, Riebe told the Deseret News. A trend emerged under Adams, she said, where the work of individual lawmakers was overridden by legislative leaders.”
- SupportedWest said data center concerns had become a proxy for broader anxiety about AI.Deseret News Politics: “Concerns extend beyond energy and water use, West said, with data centers becoming a proxy for broader AI anxiety”
- SupportedWest said, “Secrecy is always corrosive of the public mood,” and people may assume the worst when they do not know what is happening.Deseret News Politics: ““Secrecy is always corrosive of the public mood. And when people don’t know what’s going on, they often assume the worst case.””
- SupportedUtah state senators will vote on the next president on Nov. 6.Deseret News Politics: “State senators will vote on the next president on Nov. 6.”