Republicans are growing increasingly concerned about the politics of artificial intelligence data centers, which have triggered heavy backlash that threatens to make a real impact on the midterm elections.
Axios obtained a memo from the National Republican Senatorial Committee warning AI companies that data centers were becoming tremendously unpopular, and that Democrats were effectively exploiting this fear in several major races. They pointed to the race to oust Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), who was increasingly in existential danger over the exploitation of the issue.
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“Ohio is one of the leaders in building these AI factories,” the memo read. “[Sherrod] Brown has made his opposition to them the centerpiece of his campaign against Husted. Brown is using it because it works. More than any other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck.”
“If he loses and data centers get the blame, politicians across the country will take notice — and they will not go near the next one,” it added. “This has become a sleeper issue for the entire election cycle.”
The memo said that the popular perception of AI data centers was largely out of their hands, and that the AI industry itself had to put in the effort to shape public opinion.
Given how new the issues of advanced AI and AI data centers are, the issue hasn’t yet settled into opposing partisan camps. Republican officials are generally more likely to support the AI industry, following President Donald Trump’s lead, but the sentiment isn’t unanimous.
Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI), the Republican nominee in the Wisconsin gubernatorial election, has leaned into anti-AI sentiment, debuting an ad on Monday calling his Democratic opponent David Crowley “Data Center David Crowley.”
In the ad, Tiffany leaned into fears about water waste and Big Tech, while claiming under Crowley’s policies Wisconsinites would foot the bill. The Republican made clear his own anti-AI view in the ad’s caption on YouTube.
“Tiffany has been clear that there should be no new data centers in Wisconsin unless they meet strict standards that protect our state: no taxpayer subsidies, no development on productive farmland, no higher utility costs passed on to families and businesses, no secret NDAs, and full local control,” he said.
Even elected allies of Trump have begun distancing themselves from the AI industry. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) ordered an audit of hundreds of AI data center construction projects earlier in the summer, which could delay their construction for several more months.
“I’d make clear already: Any AI data center even thinking about coming here, they got to bring their own money, bring their own power, reuse their own water, and do it in a way that reduces the cost of electricity for residents across our state,” he said. “We must eliminate the tax break they are getting. They must be responsible for funding their own projects here in Texas. We will get that done.”
Backlash against AI data centers has increased over the first half of 2026. In January, 37% of respondents supported constructing a data center within 3 miles of their home, while 28% opposed it. This was reversed in July, with 41% of respondents opposing the idea of building a data center within 3 miles of their home, while support collapsed to just 24%.
Support fell across the political spectrum but was particularly pronounced among Democrats. Poll respondents’ opposition to data center construction within 3 miles of their home shot from 33% in January to 53% in July among Americans who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, compared to a 26% to 33% jump in opposition among Trump voters.
