Governor Mike Braun came to Bloomington Monday for the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Innovate Indiana panel. Before a roundtable discussion with other Indiana notables, he answered questions about his economic agenda.

It’s been a tough year for state leadership, with consumer pricing and inflation at the top of many minds. In a recent survey by Bellwether Research and Free Press Indiana, 48 percent of Hoosiers said they disapprove of Braun’s job as governor, compared to 38 percent who approve.

The same poll shows a majority of both major parties oppose data center construction, which has been a priority for Braun.

Asked by Inside INdiana Business president Gerry Dick about his strategy, Braun defended his aggressive push for development.

“For at least 70 of our rural counties, it'd be the biggest thing it could ever hit in terms of lowering property taxes, all kinds of construction jobs, and 200 to 300 probably the best-paying jobs you have in that rural county,” he said.

Critics of data centers point to their high electric and water usage, both for coolant and to supply the accompanying power infrastructure.

As of this summer, nearly a third of Indiana counties have passed local restrictions on data centers.

As moderator, Dick invited IU students to submit questions to the governor. He posed one from the audience about the challenge of keeping college graduates in the state.

That has been a priority for Indiana governors since before Braun. At the panel discussion, he described his two-pronged approach: producing more STEM graduates tailored for state industries and making a better case to students.

“There’s so much evidence there: low cost of living, relatively high incomes, enterprising state,” Braun said. “We need to do a better job of selling it and making sure that the guidance counselors at the high school level start preaching that.”

According to a Strada-Gallup survey, Indiana retains 59 percent of its college graduates in the workforce, compared to 66 percent nationally.

Braun is not up for reelection this year, but several state offices and congressional seats are. Some polling shows Democrats gaining on Republicans in what were considered safe races, such as the Secretary of State.