Politicians In Both Parties Are Sprinting Away From Data Centers

The public is turning on data centers. Politicians are trying to keep up.

Candidates are fighting to own the messaging as voters increasingly sour on the mass hubs, hammering their foes for backing a controversial industry in interviews and on the debate stage.

Republican and Democratic groups have been conducting internal polls to see how the issue will play out, as they grapple for balance of power in Washington. Of the more than 100 campaign ads this cycle that have mentioned data centers, not one of the candidate-run spots presented the infrastructure positively, according to a POLITICO review of AdImpact data.

It's a reckoning that’s happening in real time — and earlier than many expected: A few months ago, data center development was largely a local issue that barely registered among candidates running for higher office. Now, it's roiling some of the most competitive contests, from the Ohio Senate race to Michigan's battleground 7th District.

"The most amazing thing is how data centers have exploded as the hot issue du jour,” said Doug Preisse, an Ohio-based GOP strategist. “And this happens from time to time ... these things rise and fall. Right now baby, it’s data centers, and everyone’s taking note of it."

That dynamic is forcing top Republicans and Democrats who had been pro-data center development earlier this year — including potential 2028 presidential contenders —  to redefine their positions, with some pushing for moratoriums and others turning away from tax incentives or other carveouts.

And there’s no clean ideological lane. From MAGA Republicans to far-left Democrats, there are strange bedfellows joining forces against data centers, further complicating the narrative with voters.

“It's one of the only cross-partisan issues that we are seeing both in every poll and talking to voters on the ground,” said Ravi Mangla, press secretary of the progressive Working Families Party, which has backed a number of Democratic candidates who have opposed data centers on the campaign trail. “I think that it became readily apparent to both Republican and Democratic candidates that this was not going away, and it was not going to be a fringe issue. It was going to be something that was actually moving and animating voters.”

Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro — who a year ago embraced data center development — has since rolled out strict restrictions on new projects, promising the commonwealth “won’t be bulldozed by the lawyers working for these big tech companies.”

Now, Shapiro, a likely 2028 presidential candidate facing reelection this fall, and his Republican opponent Stacy Garrity have simultaneous attack ads related to data centers on the airwaves — a move that shows just how potent the issue has become.

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, who once dubbed the Lone Star State the “epicenter of AI development,” is now imposing regulations and accusing the companies behind data centers of not working collaboratively, saying they “basically dug their own grave” and “got the backlash they deserve.” Texas Democratic candidate for governor Gina Hinojosa has been slamming Abbott for rising energy costs and linking them to his support for data centers.

Other 2028 contenders who had been more supportive of data centers, like Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, have begun calling for “responsible growth” while eliminating tax exemptions.

“If you look at how some of the 2028ers have handled this, it's given people whiplash,” said one Democratic strategist, granted anonymity to discuss the fast-moving landscape on the issue. “I mean, you had Shapiro and Pritzker and [Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen] Whitmer cutting ribbons 18 months ago for companies bringing data centers and touting their investments, who are now scrambling.”

It’s opened them up to attacks for reversing their position. But their willingness to switch on a dime shows how much they don’t want to fall behind shifting voter sentiment.

A POLITICO poll from July found that large numbers of Americans have changed their opinion since January, with pluralities now against new development taking place in their communities. A Gallup poll from March found that 7 of 10 Americans opposed local construction of new data centers. Their skepticism stems from data centers’ large energy and water consumption, noise pollution in neighborhoods and overall doubt in artificial intelligence, multiple polls show.

“Controversy over data centers is a far more prominent issue today than it was five or six months ago,” said longtime Republican pollster Whit Ayres.

Data centers have already become a wedge issue in some of this cycle’s most closely watched races — where control of Congress is on the line.

Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton followed Abbott’s move and issued new data center policies, which were focused on beating China. His Democratic opponent, James Talarico, quickly issued a press release accusing Paxton of “making a sad attempt to reverse course.” The National Republican Senatorial Committee argued in a recent memo that AI industry leaders need to figure out their data center messaging. The memo, which was obtained by POLITICO and first reported by Axios, focused on the Ohio Senate race, where Democrat Sherrod Brown has made data centers a key attack in his campaign against GOP Sen. Jon Husted.

"If [Husted] loses and data centers get the blame, politicians across the country will take notice — and they will not go near the next one," the NRSC said in the memo. "This has become a sleeper issue for the entire election cycle."

The dash to redefine the issue is irking some candidates who have prioritized data centers since the outset of their campaigns, like Democratic nominee in the battleground House race for Michigan’s 7th District, William Lawrence.

His opponent, Republican Rep. Tom Barrett, recently cut an ad claiming he “stood up to my own party and voted against giving your tax dollars to data centers.” Barrett has been one of a number of Republicans who has said data center decisions are best left for local government.

“When you see so many politicians seemingly flip 180 degrees not an issue within the space of a week, it's clear that a memo went out from on high from the political powers that be encouraging their allies to change tact on this issue,” Lawrence told POLITICO. “So it does look much more political to me than to reflect any real concern for working people or meaningful engagement with the people on the ground who have been leading the fight against these data centers.”

Even President Donald Trump — who has been a defender of the industry with guardrails — appears to be aware of the shifting political grounds.

“Maybe it could use a little public relations help,” Trump said of data centers last week, adding that he would still support one being built in his community. Some leaders within the tech sector have begun to worry that voter backlash will last through 2028, POLITICO reported Monday.

It’s not just public polling that has shifted. Data centers have started to become a top issue in open-ended internal polling from both parties, with voter backlash spanning rural and urban areas alike, according to two people familiar with the surveys who were granted anonymity to discuss private data.

Ayres, the Republican pollster, cautioned that the issue is hard to poll given the public’s still-fluid perception of data centers and their development.

“It's difficult to know how this thing is going to evolve,” Ayres said. “In part because the data centers are not going anywhere. They're here. The question is how you handle them, how you develop, how you handle their increasing development. And what the costs and benefits are to having them.”

Proponents of building data centers warn that politicians might be misreading the moment. Jared Walczak, a senior fellow at the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation, said that many Americans already benefit from services that the hubs provide.

“It's currently popular to oppose data centers and propose punitive taxes on them,” Walczak said. “Many people associate data centers with AI tools they don't personally use. But data centers power all cloud technology, used by every person every single day, and used by businesses at every stage of production.”

Walczak cautioned that while there are “legitimate and solvable challenges” related to data centers’ energy consumption, politicians may come to regret the “anti-investment tax policies” they’re currently presenting.

Still, in rural, deep-red areas, Democrats are latching onto the issue of data centers in hopes it can pull voters to their side. That’s playing out in Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas.

“From the hood to the holler, one of the unifying messages is that we are all sick and tired of greed from these big money folks out of state that come into Kentucky,” Democratic Senate nominee Charles Booker told POLITICO. “And these hyperscale data centers are just the latest example of greed and the disregard of a lot of incredible people from all backgrounds.”

Lisa Kashinsky and Benjamin Freed contributed to this report.