A fast-moving issue
The fight over data centers has burst into the middle of the 2026 midterm elections. Candidates in races for the House, the Senate and governor's mansions are campaigning against the giant computing facilities, which voters blame for rising electricity prices, heavy water use and mistrust of the tech sector.
Strategists in both parties describe the issue as unusually fast-moving. A poll cited in recent reporting found that more than 70% of Americans oppose having a data center built near their home. The National Republican Senatorial Committee warned in a memo that data centers have become a 'sleeper issue' for the entire election cycle.
Ohio and Texas lead the fight
In Ohio, former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown has spent millions on ads branding Republican Sen. Jon Husted as 'the face of data centers.' Husted spent years courting the industry as lieutenant governor. The NRSC privately warned AI companies that a Husted loss could chill support for data centers nationwide.
In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who once called the state 'the epicenter of AI development,' is now pushing to restrict data centers in rural communities and strip away tax incentives. The shift came after Democratic candidate Gina Hinojosa branded Texas the 'wild west of data centers.'
In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer faced criticism from progressives after appearing at an Oracle and OpenAI data center groundbreaking in Saline Township in June. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the favorite for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, has drawn scrutiny because her husband works for the project's developer.
An issue that scrambles party lines
The debate is scrambling the usual partisan divisions. Democrats have mostly been the ones racing to harness voter anger, aiming to punish Republicans who approved the projects. But a growing number of Republicans are also campaigning against data centers in their own districts.
Politicians are now racing either to tap into the backlash or to inoculate themselves against it. The issue has become an unlikely fault line in the broader fight over the AI revolution, which is remaking the global economy and threatening to disrupt the job market. With the primaries over and the general election two months away, data centers look set to stay on the ballot.