Poll: Data Center Backlash Builds As Midterms Near

Data centers have become a major risk for the politicians who support them, with less than two weeks left before the midterms.

Half of Americans now oppose data centers being built within three miles of their home, according to new results from The POLITICO Poll, conducted by PF Global. That's the highest opposition since POLITICO began tracking Americans’ views of the sprawling technology hubs and nearly double the share of people who said the same back in January (28%).

Americans are also now more likely to oppose candidates who are pro-data center construction, a reversal from ten months ago when these candidates would get slight support.

The results highlight data centers' growing toxicity as the issue becomes more politically salient. Candidates have rushed to stake out positions that are responsive to fears that artificial intelligence — and the data centers that power the industry — will disrupt the economy, workforce and communities.

Opposition to AI infrastructure is poised to keep growing through Election Day and beyond, predicted Sam Chen, a Pennsylvania Republican strategist.

“At first it sounds fine, the data centers bring jobs, they’re not like warehouses or something,” Chen said. “And then as people find out about the environmental impact, about the water usage, the power that it might pull … it kind of becomes that ‘not-in-my-backyard’ mindset.”

Democrats are benefiting from the backlash as they move to oppose data centers: 47% of people polled said they’d be more likely to support a Democrat who opposes a local data center, but just 36% say the same about a Republican.The facilities have been a frequent topic on the campaign trail. Of the 579 ads that have aired in battleground House, Senate and gubernatorial races this cycle that mention data centers, virtually all of them portrayed the hubs negatively, according to an analysis of data from tracking firm AdImpact. Almost 80 percent of those ads were run by Democrats.

Republicans saw this trend months ago, and some populist candidates tried to separate themselves from President Donald Trump’s full-throated support for data centers. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, for instance, warned industry in August that data center issues could sink Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) in his reelection bid.

Husted, like other Republican incumbents, tried to respond to public anger over rising energy costs associated with data centers by backing legislation that would ask states to consider whether to take action to stop the energy-hungry facilities from raising power bills. The House passed the legislation in September, but it failed in the Senate.

But as the public increasingly sours on data centers, they’re also associating the unpopular hubs more and more with the GOP. Nearly half of Americans identify Republicans as the party most eager to build data centers, up from 38% in January. Meanwhile, 44% of respondents identify Democrats as the party that would stop local development.

There’s still room for candidates to define their position: 46% of Americans do not know where their own House candidate stands.

Chen said conservatives should keep trying to paint themselves as independent of their party and president and hope the issue isn’t too much of a drag.

“They can break with the president and show their voters that they are not a puppet, and could try to contrast that with a Democratic candidate that is just always going to vote the party line,” Chen said.

Among respondents presented with a Republican candidate who supported a nearby data center, 41% said they would be less likely to support the candidate. Those presented with the corresponding Democratic candidate, 39% said the same.

Trump slightly softened his tone this week, encouraging data center developers to pay a “dividend” to their communities to increase acceptance.

“I have watched the process closely, and Data Centers that were highly unpopular in a certain area, have become extremely popular when a financial deal is struck,” he wrote on Truth Social.

The president took action earlier this year aimed at addressing growing public concerns over the rising energy costs associated with data centers, enacting voluntary agreements with tech companies to ensure they build or supply their own electricity to power the infrastructure.

But policymakers on both sides of the aisle — in light of the increasingly negative public perception of data centers — are proposing more stringent measures. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, approved a first-of-its-kind statewide moratorium on new data center projects for one year. And Republican Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers in August expressed support for a “pause” on data center construction.

McKenzie Wilson, a messaging strategist at the progressive firm Blue Rose Research, said it’s shocking how fast public opinion on data centers has crashed.

“It’s really stunning to see the level of opposition we’ve been seeing to data centers. It really has dramatically changed,” she said. “It’s very rare in public opinion polling to see voters move so negatively on an issue so quickly.”

Data centers are nearly certain to be a liability for Republicans in the midterms, Wilson said, but Democrats should be wary of Trump reversing course just ahead of the elections.

“Democrats will ignore at their own peril the likelihood of Trump suddenly switching sides on this. He’s very prone to doing that on unpopular issues.”

Aaron Pellish contributed to this report.