Kathy Hochul's business-friendly data center plan

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is positioning herself as a leader of the Democratic search for a data center position that isn't explicitly anti-business.

Why it matters: Hochul says her data center platform isn't being designed with politics in mind.

• But as candidates across the country scramble for a winning position on the issue, New York is emerging as a test bed for one potential approach.

What they're saying: In an interview with Axios, Hochul said the "thoughtful" approach for Democrats is to avoid demonizing business and just focus on protecting their constituents.

• "I want Democrats to win and if this [approach] helps them, embrace it, right?" she said.
• Hochul this week also blasted the Senate GOP campaign arm's pressure on AI companies to fix the optics of data centers.
• "I don't think it's government's role, certainly not the United States Senate's role, to be telling companies how to market their products," she said at a press conference.

Zoom in: New York is the epicenter of the affordability debate — an election issue that is crashing into AI angst.

• Hochul is trying to thread the needle of a business-friendly politician who also cares about workers, lowering living costs and the environment.
• Hochul is calling for a relatively short moratorium on data center construction — only one year — while other progressive Democrats want to make the construction contingent on achieving AI safety and other much loftier goals.
• Progressives in Hochul's own state also support a moratorium that is longer than one year. Hochul has not said whether she would back that.

On Wednesday, Hochul held a roundtable with women whose jobs are being directly impacted by AI as part of a workforce development to ready New Yorkers.

• "You need human interaction in some things. You may get a phone call that someone just got the worst news of their life and they're crying and I'm trying to help them understand this cancer diagnosis. That they may need radiation," said Lynn Brooks, a claims processor for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York and union steward.
• "AI is a tool. I see the need for it. But I don't want it to replace the family," Brooks added, referring to her team.

The bottom line: Hochul will forever be able to boast that she was the first governor in the nation to sign a data center moratorium, but there is still a meaningful distance between her and progressives that allows her to maintain her business relationships.