Shapiro, Garrity clash on data centers, measles response in Pennsylvania governor debate: 4 takeaways

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and state Treasurer Stacy Garrity (R), their parties' nominees to lead the commonwealth, sparred over an ongoing measles outbreak, voter ID reform and data centers during their first and only scheduled debate on Wednesday evening.  The debate was hosted by ABC27, a local affiliate of The Hill’s parent company, Nexstar Media Group, in Harrisburg.  Shapiro has held a strong lead in his reelection race, polling 25 points ahead of Garrity in a Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election forecaster, rates this race as solidly in the Democratic column. Here are four takeaways from Wednesday’s debate: Each candidate began by defending their stance on data center developments in the commonwealth, amid rising concerns across the country about these facilities' reported environmental impacts and high energy usage. As governor, Shapiro unveiled requirements for new data center developments in the commonwealth, but he stopped short of imposing a full moratorium like some other Democratic state leaders.  “I put in place the strictest policy, the strictest guardrails, in the nation to ensure that our communities are protected,” Shapiro said. “Again, just putting it very simply, if a local community does not want that data center to be built in their community, it will not be built.” Garrity, who has called for a temporary halt of new data center developments in Pennsylvania to allow fo…