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Data centers have gone from economic‑development darlings to political hot potatoes as public opinion soured and many former advocates scramble to align with voters.
The candidates know all too well that voters are fed up with getting sky-high utility bills in their mailbox while energy-hungry data centers get generous tax breaks.
It is reshaping races from Texas to Ohio and Florida as candidates try to show they are protecting ratepayers.
Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, surprised many when he announced a pause on new data centers so the state — now home to the fastest‑growing market in the country — can audit their energy and water use.
President Trump weighed in, telling Punchbowl News it was a mistake because “data centers could be bigger than oil.” The move created an unusual rift between the two Republicans and handed Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa an opening in her challenge to Mr. Abbott in the governor’s race.
Ms. Hinojosa has been reminding voters that Mr. Abbott signed a 2015 law giving data centers long-term sales‑tax breaks, and she’s pressing him to call a special legislative session to unwind it. She argues the pause should go further to set up stronger guardrails before more projects move ahead.
“The only way we can have any assurances that the people will be protected is if there is a moratorium until the legislature can meet and pass into actual law real protections for people,” she recently told NPR.
Data center industry consultants say all of this reflects a broader, fast‑moving national trend: elected leaders and voters across the country are demanding more transparency, tighter rules, and stronger guarantees that communities won’t subsidize massive, energy-hungry projects.
A Gallup Poll released earlier this year found broad resistance to new AI‑related data‑center projects. Seven in ten Americans oppose building them in their local area — nearly half strongly — while only a quarter are in favor, underscoring just how sharply public sentiment has shifted.
Between August of last year and the end of June, Leading the Future, a pro-AI network of super PACs, had raised nearly $76 million and spent $45 million, according to FEC filings. The spending went to rallying opposition to stronger AI regulations.
“Leading the Future is focused on building a broad coalition of lawmakers committed to getting AI policy right,” said spokesman Jess Hunt. “That means advancing a clear national framework that keeps America at the forefront of innovation, creates jobs and economic opportunity, prepares workers for the future, and establishes meaningful protections for children, families and communities.”
In Ohio, former Sen. Sherrod Brown has leaned hard into the issue as he tries to unseat GOP Sen. Jon Husted, arguing that Mr. Husted oversold data centers as a high‑tech win for Ohio while taxpayers have seen little benefit.
Source: Read the original article on www.washingtontimes.com
