Data centers go bipartisan: voter backlash hits the AI buildout before the midterms

The AI buildout has a new opponent, and it votes. According to the CNBC All-America Economic Survey, 63% of U.S. voters don't want an AI data center near their home, and just 13% support one.

The revolt crosses party lines. In that same survey, 80% of Democrats and 40% of MAGA supporters oppose a data center within 10 miles. Political opposition has pulled together figures from Sen. Bernie Sanders to right-wing strategist Steve Bannon, disrupting dozens of proposed sites.

The numbers behind the backlash

The trend line is steep. A POLITICO Poll conducted by PF Global found half of Americans now oppose a data center within three miles of their home, up from 28% in January 2026. That is a 22-point jump, which in politics is a stampede.

Organizing is keeping pace. Data Center Watch, part of the AI startup 10a Labs, counts community groups against data centers more than doubling to 833 during the first few months of this year, in almost every state.

And the potential expansion is enormous. Pew Research Center puts the U.S. at about 3,000 data centers today, with that number potentially doubling in the next few years. The Washington Post reports that by 2030, data centers are expected to use 12% of the nation's electricity.

The BBC reports on projects of enormous scale. In Indiana, an Amazon campus going up across from Angelita Soriano's home will cover more than a square mile, with 26 buildings and 782 diesel-powered generators. "I don't want to be the guinea pig for this," she said. In Ohio, OpenAI, Nvidia, SB Energy and the US Department of Energy are planning a complex of roughly six square miles.

Then there is the jobs pitch. Brookings Institution research finds a new data center generates only 100 to 200 local jobs (fewer than industry advocates claim) and has virtually no effect on local wages.

Washington says build, the map says wait

President Donald Trump is all in on the buildout. He has called the backlash a "sick conspiracy" and said towns working to keep the buildings out are "backwards and poor," the BBC reports.

Republican candidates are not all following him. According to the BBC, the National Republican Senatorial Committee sent a private memo advising candidates to change how they talk about data centers, saying: "This has become a sleeper issue for the entire election cycle." Polls and politicians are moving together.

Ohio is the clearest case. The BBC reports that recent polls find a majority of Ohio voters oppose data centers. Democratic challenger Sherrod Brown opposes new facilities and leads Republican Sen. John Husted, who has shifted to saying approvals should be left to local citizens and officials.

Texas tells a similar story with a different cast, according to the BBC. Pew data shows nearly 300 active data centers there and another 170 in development. Gov. Greg Abbott has reversed his earlier praise and voiced concern over "safety and quality of life." In the Senate race, Democrat James Talarico is challenging Big Tech tax incentives, while Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton says there is "plenty of open space in Texas that we can put data centres."

The politics are not all one direction, though. CNBC reports that nearly 55% of MAGA supporters want companies to keep developing advanced AI while Congress works on regulations, versus 27% who favor a pause. Voters can like the technology and still not want the server farm next door.

One developer knows the feeling, the BBC reports. Balaji Tammabattula, CEO of Barupon, is building a 700-acre self-powered, rain-capturing campus in Liberty, Texas, and faces total community opposition. "There's just such a high level of tension from the jump that you can't really even break through with the facts," he said.

What it means, and what to watch

The cost fight is now written into policy. In July, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs enacted a three-year pause on any new tax break for a data center project. A longtime Democratic senator is holding regular meetings with staff to track the impact and is drafting legislation to curb the expansion, according to the BBC. The details of that bill are not public in the reporting.

Here is what to watch:

• Whether pauses outlast their terms. Temporary moratoriums and tax-break freezes run one to three years. Whether they are extended is an open question.
• The local ledger. The reporting does not establish what tax revenue and public service costs data centers create in host towns, and that is the number both sides need.
• The Republican split. Trump wants more buildout, while Husted and Abbott have softened or reversed their earlier support.

The buildout that was supposed to be the story of American power has become a story about zoning meetings, diesel generators and tax breaks. Money, land and electricity all meet at the county line, and at the ballot box, so do the voters.