A wave of Republican candidates in this year’s elections is breaking with President Donald Trump over data center construction, as polling shows widespread public opposition to the AI-driven building boom in local communities.
Trump took to social media Monday to defend the industry, arguing that communities that embrace data centers will end up “successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place.” He warned that “if we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame,” and said “China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement.”
But Republican strategists say the issue has become politically dangerous, and several GOP candidates on this year’s ballot are shifting away from the party’s earlier embrace of AI infrastructure. A recent Fox News poll found 70% of voters want to slow data center construction in their area, with only 30% in favor. Support was limited even within the GOP: just 40% of Republicans and 46% of MAGA Republicans backed new construction.
Rising electricity costs and concerns about water and energy consumption are driving much of the opposition.
Battleground Races Feel the Heat
In Michigan, former Rep. Mike Rogers, the GOP Senate nominee, said two weeks ago, “I think we need to take a pause, probably, and make sure that we’re answering all the questions that people have on them.” Rogers, who had previously welcomed data center expansion in the state, has since called for a one-year moratorium, saying “Michigan needs stronger guardrails to protect community control, prevent utility price hikes, protect our water, and stop pay-to-play schemes.”
In Ohio, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has warned that data centers could help Democrats flip the Senate seat held by appointed GOP Sen. Jon Husted, who faces former longtime Sen. Sherrod Brown. Brown and allied groups have spent millions on ads branding Husted “the face of data centers in Ohio.” An NRSC memo said, “More than any other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck.” Husted has introduced a Senate bill aimed at preventing average Americans from footing the bill for data center energy costs.
Ohio’s Republican gubernatorial nominee, Vivek Ramaswamy, has pledged a first-day executive order halting approval of new data center projects until safeguards he’s proposed are in place.
Texas, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania Candidates Push Back
In Texas, Attorney General and Senate nominee Ken Paxton unveiled a four-point plan last month to curb rapid data center growth. Gov. Greg Abbott, running for a fourth term, has halted new data center connections to the state’s power grid pending a regulatory audit — a move Trump has criticized as a “mistake.”
In Wisconsin, Rep. Tom Tiffany, the GOP nominee for governor, has made opposition to data centers a central campaign theme, opposing new projects unless strict conditions are met and attacking his Democratic rival, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, as “Data Center David Crowley.”
In Pennsylvania, Treasurer and Republican gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity has called for a temporary pause on new and uncontracted major data center developments.
Not every Republican is calling for a halt. Rep. Byron Donalds, a GOP gubernatorial nominee who received significant AI industry backing during his primary, opposes bans or moratoriums but introduced legislation this summer requiring large AI data centers to generate their own power and water instead of drawing from public utilities.
Trump Gives Candidates Room to Maneuver
Despite his public defense of the industry, Trump has signaled some tolerance for dissent within his own party. “If a Republican’s against a data center, that’s OK with me,” he said.
Republican strategist Matt Gorman told Fox News Digital that “Trump is smartly taking the long view of this,” adding that “Republicans on the ballot this year are being responsive to the very real concerns people have” and that “these companies and their champions have to do more to make the case.”
The AI industry itself is trying to respond to the backlash. Build American AI, a group backed by leading AI companies, launched a multi-million-dollar public engagement campaign this week aimed at building support for what it called “clear, strong, and commonsense policies governing the development of the data centers and energy infrastructure.” The group said such policies “should protect residential ratepayers, safeguard the environment and water resources, require developers to pay their fair share, and preserve the right of every community to decide whether it wants to welcome data center investment.”
“We can protect ratepayers, safeguard our natural resources, respect the right of communities to decide whether they want to welcome this investment, and still build the infrastructure America needs to lead the world in artificial intelligence,” Build American AI said.
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