Data Center Backlash Becomes a Political Force After Midterms

Nearly 80 percent of voters oppose building data centers in their own neighborhoods, and almost 60 percent said the facilities were a crucial or major factor in their vote, according to an NBC exit poll conducted after the Nov. 3 midterms. Those numbers, released alongside results that gave Democrats full control of Congress, signal that anger over data centers — the large facilities that house the computers powering AI — has become an electoral force with consequences for one of the largest infrastructure buildouts in U.S. history.

The stakes are substantial. OpenAI has eyed a $500 billion data center in Ohio, backed by more than $100 billion in financing from Nvidia. The outcome of the midterms now threatens the pace, location and economics of that buildout, with Democrats positioned to push new limits on where data centers can be built and how much say local communities have in the process.

What did the election actually change?

Voters in several states pushed back against the AI buildout, even as pro-AI super PACs spent millions trying to sway them. In Ohio, the county where Meta had planned a 700,000-square-foot facility just passed a ban on data centers, and local communities across the state overwhelmingly voted against data center buildout measures.

The pattern extended well beyond Ohio. Candidates in Texas, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, Georgia and South Carolina all won seats after taking a stance against the rapid buildout of data centers.

"It is clear that money does not buy outcomes," said Aniketh Koneru, a tech and policy researcher, adding that in modern politics, creating a "local villain" is one way to build campaign momentum.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley predict that Democratic Governor-elect Amy Acton will pose a major risk to Ohio's data center buildout. Goldman Sachs, separately, predicts data center construction delays in states like Georgia and Texas because of Democratic gains.

Nadine Smith, president and CEO of the racial justice organization Color of Change, called the election a referendum on "who this economy is built for."

"National security matters," Smith said, referring to a common argument from data center supporters that the infrastructure is essential for the U.S. to stay ahead in war and in its rivalry with China. "And so do the families in South Memphis breathing exhaust from the gas turbines powering an AI supercomputer." She was referring to xAI's data center in Memphis, Tennessee, which uses gas turbines for power.

What legislation could move now?

Democratic control of Congress improves the odds for bills like the one Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced earlier this year. The bill proposes a nationwide moratorium on new data centers until Congress adds new guardrails and ensures the buildout does not raise electricity costs, harm the environment or proceed without community approval. Any such bill would face a possible veto from a Republican White House.

Other pending measures include the GRID Savings Act, proposed by New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich, which would prevent grid infrastructure costs from being passed on to communities during large AI data center buildouts.

Likely next steps at the state and local level include more construction moratoriums, or requirements that data centers pay for their own power grid upgrades instead of passing those costs on to nearby communities.

Environmental regulation is a second front. Gas turbines power xAI's Memphis facility and data centers throughout Virginia, known as the world capital of data centers. Maia Woluchem, program director at the nonprofit research group Data & Society, believes changes to energy regulations, land rights and other environmental policies could affect the buildout, especially as congressional Democrats look further into the Trump administration's rollback of certain energy protections, as the New York Times reported they might.

"Regardless of federal action, I could imagine that we will see additional movement at the state and local level, given the momentum that's been building from the ground up," Woluchem said.

She cited Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, who supports a statewide moratorium on data centers, as an example. Both Hinojosa and Governor Greg Abbott called for some limits, but Hinojosa centered much of her campaign on opposing data centers — a notable choice in Texas, whose electrical grid has proved vulnerable over the past decade.

Why are voters angry at the buildings themselves?

The backlash runs deeper than the facilities, which are not new. One private equity executive said people do not necessarily hate data centers but rather AI, and that data centers have become a stand-in for people's fears and anxieties about the technology.

"It does look like the results are pointing to a real frustration with tech power at minimum," Woluchem said, noting that the issue is bipartisan.

Concrete grievances have accumulated for years. Amazon built a data center in Gilroy, California, without many residents knowing, by satisfying a 45-year-old zoning law. Vague or outdated zoning laws, combined with requirements that local officials sign nondisclosure agreements barring them from discussing data center projects, have fueled outrage about the buildout.

Data centers have also received billions in tax breaks. Tech companies have touted benefits such as jobs and community programs, but for many voters that was not enough. Residents want assurance they still have a say in what happens in their communities, and many fear the AI buildout will mainly enrich a few wealthy people while their communities suffer and living costs rise.

For the past month, voters have consistently raised two concerns: data centers' effect on the environment, and their lack of say in whether the facilities are built.

Is a blanket freeze realistic?

Smith expects a fight ahead, and possibly more executive orders designed to bypass what Congress is now likely to block.

"Even among Democrats, a blanket freeze is contested," she said, referring to some Democrats' worry that a moratorium could slow AI progress and hurt national security.

She also expects AI lobbyists to start calling lawmakers. "Democrats ran on making Big Tech pay," Smith said. "Our job is to make sure they remember it once the cameras leave."

Her closing argument ties the election results to the industry's balance sheet: "If AI infrastructure is truly a national priority, then the companies building it can afford to pay for their own power, meet clean air standards, disclose what they use, and build with the consent of the people who live next door," Smith said. "Families should never be subsidizing the richest corporations in history through their utility bills."

With Democratic control of Congress, a Republican White House and coalitions of opposed voters in at least seven states, the next two years will test whether the industry's expansion can continue at its current pace — or whether community consent becomes a binding constraint on it.

By Marcus Bennett