How a Fierce Backlash Against Data Centers Could Shape US Midterm Elections

Democrats and Republicans alike oppose data center development amid growing reactions across the United States.

By tech reporter Callie Hayes, San Francisco

A year ago, a veteran US senator didn't think much of data centers. is

Now, according to one of his advisers, he is holding regular staff meetings to track their impact and is working on new rules aimed at preventing their rapid spread across the country.

"It happens sometimes, something starts slow and then goes fast," the Democratic senator's top policy adviser told the BBC. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press.

The senator's 180-degree turn in attention was almost entirely driven by a rising tide of public backlash that had politicians across the country scrambling to keep up. Public sentiment has turned against the expansion of data centers, large warehouses that store the processing power needed for Internet activity.

Data centers filled with rows and rows of computer chips, sometimes seven feet high, have become more than just infrastructure for the Internet. They are now the physical embodiment of the recent and explosive growth of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the various fears people associate with it.

"I don't want to be the guinea pig for this," Indiana resident Angelita Soriano told the BBC.

The overreaction to data centers is another threat to the AI giant

A new Amazon data center is being built directly across the street from its home. When complete, the 26-building structure will occupy more than a square mile in its neighborhood and house 782 diesel generators.

Some data centers are even larger. In Ohio, a joint effort between OpenAI, Nvidia, SB Energy and the US Department of Energy is set to build a data center complex that spans roughly six square miles, the size of most counties in the US.

According to the Pew Center for External Research, there are currently about 3,000 data centers operating in the United States, a number that will potentially double in the next few years.

Data centers are built through highly local laws and permits, meaning federal lawmakers like U.S. senators have little say in the process.

However, opposition has grown so quickly in the United States that suddenly politicians at all levels are now forced to take a stand.

"It's not just an issue on the left, there's a big push for data centers among conservatives," says Chloe Autio, an AI policy consultant. "Anyone who takes a clear position and sticks to it will really benefit on either side."

His analysis was echoed by counsel to a US senator working on data center legislation.

"There is a clear policy need here that we are looking to fill," he said. "It's a backlash across the country — institutions are seeing the impacts of data centers and they don't like them."

That has put many on Capitol Hill — even Republicans — in direct contrast to President Donald Trump, who has championed the unbridled growth of artificial intelligence technology.

Trump has called the backlash against data centers a "sick conspiracy" and said the people and cities trying to keep the buildings out are "backward and poor."

His anger has been used as a boon to Democratic politicians seeking midterm votes from disgruntled or undecided voters.

The BBC spoke to residents in Indiana, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Oregon, who were all organizing locally against data center development. They expressed concern about many aspects of the buildings, including their size, construction and operational noise, their impact on air, water and energy resources, as well as the speed at which they appear to be approved by local authorities.

In the first few months of this year, community groups organized against data centers more than doubled to 833, appearing in nearly every US state, according to data watchdog research. The company collects data for AI industry stakeholders and is part of a startup called 10a Labs.

Stephanie Maldonado, political director of LUCHA, an Arizona-based community organizing group, referred to opposition to data centers as a "David and Goliath story" that began several years ago.

"People were ready to stop it," Maldonado added. "Now people are angry."

A new, foreign national poll shows that artificial intelligence and data center regulations are among the most important issues for voters this election cycle, behind the ongoing Iran war and various economic aspects.

Proponents of building data centers often argue that these projects create more and better-paying local jobs.

However, recent research, out of the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan policy research group, found that a new data center would create between 100 and 200 local jobs, "fewer than industry advocates claim." These projects also have essentially no impact on local wages.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs was one such supporter — until public pressure pushed her to the other side. In July, he imposed a three-year moratorium on a new tax break given to a company for a data center project.

Arizona isn't the only state to see politicians react to backlash from the data center.

Abd al-Said, a Democrat running for Senate in Michigan, made new data center rules and regulations a clear part of his successful primary campaign for the Senate.

In the Georgia governor's race, a Democrat who has called for a halt to data center development is up against a Republican opponent.

Republican Sen. John Husted of Ohio, who is fighting for his seat against Democrat Sherrod Brown, also has to change his stance. Recent external polls have shown that a majority of Ohio voters oppose data centers. He has moderated his support, saying their entry should be up to local citizens and elected officials.

Meanwhile, Brown has hit back at his opposition to the new data centers as he leads Husted in recent polls.

Husted's trouble in Ohio prompted the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the main fundraising arm for conservatives in the Senate, to write in a private memo that Republican politicians should completely rethink how they talk to voters in data centers.

"This issue has become a sleeper issue for the entire election cycle," the NRSC added.

Texas is perhaps the clearest example of how backlash has become an undeniable issue for even the most partisan of politicians.

According to Pew data, the state currently has approximately 300 operational data centers, with another 170 planned for expansion.

At the end of last year, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott touted Texas as a "hub for artificial intelligence development" because of the number of data centers it houses.

Within months, he backed out, citing "safety and quality of life" concerns.

It could also play a role in the upcoming state Senate race.