Data Center Backlash Becomes a Defining Issue in the 2026 Midterms

Few issues are energizing voters across the political spectrum in 2026 like data centers. The fast buildout of massive server facilities, and the construction and costs that come with them, has prompted local opposition in communities nationwide and become a major theme in many congressional and gubernatorial campaigns.

Tech money is also flowing into these races. Leading the Future, a super PAC backed by venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, has spent $45 million in a year. Public First Action, a group backed by Anthropic that says it supports AI safeguards, reports raising $80 million. Both have funded Democratic and Republican-aligned groups. Another super PAC, Tomorrow Together, launched $4 million in ads for battleground House races focused on data center development and AI safety.

Candidates differ on how far to go. Some back an outright moratorium, while others prefer local control or guardrails. Democrats are more likely to favor a pause, but not always, and some Republicans say a pause is exactly what is needed.

In Texas, which has the second-most planned data center projects after Virginia, the issue cuts across several races. In the Senate contest, Democrat James Talarico has proposed ending state sales tax incentives, requiring closed-loop water systems and creating federal grid and environmental standards. Republican Ken Paxton wants to keep Chinese technology out of US data centers and repeal sales tax exemptions. Both want data centers to bear their own energy infrastructure costs. In the governor's race, Democrat Gina Hinojosa, who has called for a statewide moratorium, has accused Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of flip-flopping after he celebrated a $40 billion Google investment last year and then announced an audit in August that could slow grid connections. Cook Political Report rates the governor's race as leaning Republican and the Senate race as a toss-up.

In Florida, Democrat David Jolly has pledged a one-year ban on hyperscale data centers on his first day in office. Republican Byron Donalds, who once said Florida was "wide open" to build, now backs policies protecting ratepayers and introduced the Protecting Ratepayers Act in July. Opponents have dubbed him "Data Center Donalds." An October NBC6/Telemundo poll found 45 percent of likely voters opposed data centers in Florida, with 59 percent opposed in their own communities, though Donalds led Jolly 48 percent to 41 percent.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican challenger Stacy Garrity have each accused the other of shifting positions. Shapiro touted a $20 billion Amazon investment last year but in August signed an order barring nondisclosure agreements for developers and removed AI data center proposals from the fast track. Garrity, who earlier called rural areas "perfect places to put data centers," now supports a pause of no more than three years. A Quinnipiac poll found 64 percent of likely voters believe AI data centers would do more harm than good, while showing Shapiro ahead 59 percent to 34 percent.

In Ohio's Senate race, a leaked National Republican Senatorial Committee memo called data centers "the anchor hanging around Husted's neck." Democrat Sherrod Brown has labeled Republican Sen. Jon Husted "the face of data centers." Husted favors letting local communities decide, and his Ratepayer Protection Act passed the House but narrowly failed in the Senate. The memo warned that if Husted loses and data centers get the blame, "politicians across the country will take notice."

Michigan's open Senate seat features two candidates who both support a moratorium: Republican Mike Rogers, who backs a one-year pause, and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who wants no more data centers until they can be built safely with federal protections. Cook Political Report rates that race a dead heat. In Wisconsin, neither gubernatorial nominee has called for a moratorium, though both have backed away from earlier support, and Nevada Democrats have branded Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo "data center Joe."