A year ago, few voters were talking about data centers. Today, massive facilities built to satisfy the world’s enormous computing needs AI boom have become one of the most explosive problems of the midterm exams 2026and their construction opens a divide between the Trump administration and Republicans running in state and federal elections this fall.
When ChatGPT spear By the end of 2022, most data centers were built in blue states. But by 2025, 68% of online data centers were in red states. Today, 75% of data centers under construction and 80% of data centers in the planning stages are in predominantly Republican states, according to new data from Cleanview Research, an independent energy market intelligence firm that tracks data center development.
“Red states tend to accept large, energy-intensive infrastructure projects, even ones that could have detrimental effects on communities,” said Chris Millay, a data center analyst at macroeconomic consultancy Greenmantle. He also points to the relative lack of environmental regulation and the availability of open land as reasons why rural states receive more investment.
President Trump sees the race for AI as essential to the economy and national security, and he is one of the biggest proponents of data centers. At a recent rally in Ohio, he said of data centers: “We want them… look, there’s so much money to be made for Ohio – you can’t just turn them off.” They will go to China. »
He has repeatedly dismissed public opposition to data centers, posting on Truth Social that “the only reason communities across the United States should not want Data centers That is if they want to end up backward and poor. » Mr. Trump has also resisted regulation, although he has called on developers to give back to local communities through education, lower taxes, job creation and protection of energy costs.
Red states may be driving most of the boom, and increasingly, communities living near data centers are pushing back. People who live near data centers have concerns reported on the value of their properties, noisehigher energy bills and resource depletion. Meanwhile, calls for moratoriums are spreading in communities across the country.
Overall, opposition to data centers exceeds support by 30 points, with polls showing that the majority of Republicans oppose building data centers close to home.
“It’s such a consensus issue that it’s really impossible to take the other side,” Millay said. “When voters see a politician who supports data centers, they wonder, ‘Well, how am I going to trust him with my job?'”
Some of the president’s closest allies have begun to break with him over the issue. In Texas, which has the most data centers under construction, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott suspended environmental permits and grid connections for new data centers. Abbott, who is seeking a fourth term, is in a surprisingly close race against Democrat Gina Hinojosa.
In The tight Texas Senate raceRepublican candidate, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, wants to end Texas’ sales tax break for data centers. He also said they should be held criminally responsible if they power AI chatbots that put children in danger.
Data centers appear to be the only issue on which the Democratic and Republican candidates appear nearly identical.
In Ohio, Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for governor, said in a press release: “I am calling on our Statehouse to pass a conditional moratorium on data centers.”
His Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, went further. He pledged to “issue an executive order on my first day in office to immediately suspend approval of any new data center project announcements in Ohio” and to maintain that pause until lawmakers pass his “Ohioans-First” law, which would require data centers to provide free electricity to surrounding residents.
A recent New York Times/Siena poll found that data centers are a weak point for Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted, with voters favoring his opponent by an 11-point margin on the issue.
Campaigns have spent $45 million this year on ads mentioning data centers – most in opposition – according to AdImpact.
In Georgia, where candidates have spent nearly $13 million on ads mentioning data centers — more than in any other state — Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson remains on Mr. Trump’s side. While Democratic candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms calls for a temporary moratorium on construction, Jackson says the decision should be left to local officials.
Jackson made the case for data centers at a recent press conference, saying he wanted to “educate people on the benefits if they want (a data center).” Some counties, he said, expect “to have no property taxes after the data center is installed.” Effingham County, where OpenAI plans a $20 billion data center, has pledged to use some of that revenue to reduce property taxes for homeowners.
Given that the bulk of the next wave of data centers is largely planned in states won by Mr. Trump in 2024, the choices Republican candidates make, whether to side with voters or the president, could decide whether these projects are shelved, made more expensive or even canceled.
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