A QPQ Tracker study · North Carolina · 2023–2026
North Carolina: who paid for the data centers and what the state decided
On July 29, 2025 the General Assembly overrode Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of SB 266, Senate 30-18 and House 74-46. Three Democrats supplied the House votes. The law repealed the state’s interim carbon target and let Duke Energy recover construction costs while plants are still being built, for a build-out driven by data center demand.
Duke Energy’s PAC gave each of the three $5,000 on their first-quarter 2026 reports, $11,000, $7,000 and $13,000 since 2023. All three lost their primaries on March 3, 2026, by wide margins.
Amazon, Meta, Apple and the Data Center Coalition have no North Carolina committee. The Utilities Commission has not yet ruled on Duke’s large-load tariff. The settlement filed on October 6, 2026 carries Amazon, Google and Microsoft as parties. Meta did not sign.
Who paid
Each company's direct giving from its treasury and employee PAC, as filed in North Carolina. Executives' personal cheques, super PAC spending and lobbying are different kinds of money and are not added here.
| Payer | Class | Direct giving in North Carolina | Filings (every state the payer files in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Energy | Utility | $366,200 | 2 filer rows → |
Who took it
The North Carolina officeholders and candidates who received the most from the payer set, and what each did on the state's data center measures: the votes they cast, the bills they authored, the orders they signed. A yea is a vote for the measure as titled.
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
1 action on a measure
- was the target ofNorth Carolina Democratic primaries, March 3, 2026: the three SB 266 override Democrats defeatedEnacted
1 action on a measure
- advocated forSB 266 / SL 2025-78: "The Power Bill Reduction Act" (enacted over veto)Enacted
1 action on a measure
- advocated forSB 266 / SL 2025-78: "The Power Bill Reduction Act" (enacted over veto)Enacted
1 action on a measure
- was the target ofNorth Carolina Democratic primaries, March 3, 2026: the three SB 266 override Democrats defeatedEnacted
1 action on a measure
- advocated forSB 266 / SL 2025-78: "The Power Bill Reduction Act" (enacted over veto)Enacted
1 action on a measure
- advocated forSB 266 / SL 2025-78: "The Power Bill Reduction Act" (enacted over veto)Enacted
1 action on a measure
- was the target ofNorth Carolina Democratic primaries, March 3, 2026: the three SB 266 override Democrats defeatedEnacted
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
The 12 largest recipients of any kind, committees included
| # | Recipient | Kind | From the payer set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Destin Hall | person | $32,400 |
| 2 | NORTH CAROLINA DEMOCRATIC PARTY | PAC or committee | $20,000 |
| 3 | NC Republican House Caucus | PAC or committee | $20,000 |
| 4 | NC Republican Senate Caucus | PAC or committee | $20,000 |
| 5 | Phil Berger | person | $19,600 |
| 6 | Shelly Willingham | person | $13,000 |
| 7 | Ralph Hise | person | $12,000 |
| 8 | Carla D. Cunningham | person | $11,000 |
| 9 | Warren Daniel | person | $11,000 |
| 10 | Norman Sanderson | person | $9,000 |
| 11 | Committee to Elect Republican Women | PAC or committee | $7,500 |
| 12 | Tim Moffitt | person | $7,000 |
What they decided
Every North Carolina bill, regulator's order, executive action and election the study tracks, with its result, its recorded vote and the people and companies on the record for it. Each links to the official document.
North Carolina3 measures
- Regulator's orderPendingOct 6, 2026Microsoft Corp commented on; Duke Energy commented on; Public Staff - North Carolina Utilities Commission commented on; Amazon.com Inc commented on; Department of Defense commented on and 1 more
- ElectionDecidedMar 3, 2026Carla D. Cunningham was the target of; Nasif Majeed was the target of; Shelly Willingham was the target of
- BillEnactedJul 29, 2025Jim Burgin advocated for; Bob Brinson advocated for; Norman Sanderson advocated for; Eddie Settle (North Carolina) advocated for; Steve Jarvis (North Carolina) advocated for; Ralph Hise advocated for
How to read this page
The money is corporate-treasury and employee-PAC giving reported in North Carolina’s own filing system, the State Board of Elections, from January 2023 to the latest filing loaded (113 contributions, January 2023 to February 2026). Transfers between a politician’s own committees, conduit memo lines and gifts from the opposing side are left out. Executives’ personal cheques, super PAC spending, 527 transfers and lobbying are different kinds of money. The report keeps them apart, and the written part of this page names them as such. Nothing on this page adds across kinds.
The votes are the legislature’s own roll calls, loaded for the members the study follows. A yea is a vote for the measure as titled. The measures are the bills, commission orders, executive actions and elections the study identified; each links to its official record.
Every payer total was reconciled against the payer’s own reports where the state publishes them. The checks are in the report’s verification log. Figures on this page were last recomputed on October 31, 2026. Correlation is not proof of causation; the record shows what was paid and what was decided.