Some 80 percent of Democratic or Republican candidates for governor – and 63 percent of all candidates – have expressed a stance on data centers, according to DCD analysis.

This number is even higher when excluding candidates in US territories and the District of Columbia, reaching 84 percent when considering only Democratic or Republican candidates and 67 percent when considering all candidates.

The data indicates that the major US parties now regard data centers as an issue of considerable importance ahead of the November midterm elections, which will see the election of 39 governors, 35 senators, and all members of the House of Representatives.

The AI boom since the debut of ChatGPT in November 2022 has led to rapid growth in the size, importance, and ubiquity of data centers.

Those in favor of the industry say that it is an economic boon, creating construction jobs and paying much-needed property taxes; that it is an industry powering the most exciting technology of the 21st century, which will deliver productivity gains for the US economy; that the US needs to make sure it is not falling behind its closest peer competitor, China, and more.

This has, in turn, catalyzed an opposition movement at the local, state, and national level which draws together a variety of different issues, including: a data center’s immediate physical impacts, like noise or light pollution; its economic impact on property values or utility rates; how it might affect availability of natural resources, like water or energy; how they might affect the environment, whether through carbon emissions or impacts on local wildlife; the use of tax breaks to draw data center developers in; the anti-democratic nature of the planning process; the concentration of wealth in the hands of Big Tech; AI; surveillance, and more.

Most gubernatorial candidates are against data centers

This midterm election marks the first time that data centers are on the ballot as a major election issue– and that candidates are acutely aware of the data center industry’s unpopularity.

DCD looked at whether a candidate had articulated a stance towards data centers by examining a candidate’s official campaign materials, their answers to media and public questions, and their support for data center-related legislation.

DCD found that most candidates who mentioned data centers – even those who were broadly supportive of the industry – argued for some regulation around bread-and-butter issues. This includes policies that would ensure utility companies or developers could not pass on the cost of building or modernizing infrastructure for data centers.

Some, like the Democratic candidate for Iowa Governor, Rob Sand, have articulated detailed plans for how they will deal with data centers.

Sand says he would make data centers cover all their own costs, end tax breaks, enact consumer protections, require transparency about resource use and the planning process, and more.

“The surge of data centers moving in across our state requires further accountability and transparency, and our leaders must put Iowa taxpayers and ratepayers – not these huge corporations – first,” reads Sand’s campaign website.

Others have expressed concern about data centers generally but emphasize that local communities should have the final say.

“There should be no new data centers in Wisconsin without strong standards to protect our ratepayers, farmland, water, local communities, and electric grid,” reads the official campaign website of Republican candidate for Wisconsin Governor, Tom Tiffany.

Only four candidates for governor across all races have expressed support for data centers, one of which is Independent. The rest – Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville, New York’s Bruce Blakeman, and Vermont’s Phil Scott – are Republicans.

“We’re going to do data centers. It will help you tremendously,” said Tuberville in July. “The tax money that comes from those things is unbelievable for schools, for law enforcement, for anything that’s done.

“They are listening to all this nonsense they see on social media that’s coming from China because China does not want us to grow.”

This argument – that data center opponents are being backed by China and are therefore illegitimate – has been cited by various Republican members of the House, Republican Governor Tate Reeves, pro-Bitcoin and pro-fossil fuel think tanks, and businessman Kevin O’Leary, who has apologized for the allegations and is now being sued for making them.

Blakeman, who is running against the current New York governor Kathy Hochul, said that he would rescind the statewide, one-year moratorium on data centers that Hochul approved in July.

“She doesn't know that AI is coming? We have to compete with the rest of the country and the rest of the world for economic development. Figure out a way to do it where local governments will buy into it, and business leaders will create incentives," Blakeman said to Spectrum News.

Many incumbent candidates running for re-election with an anti-data center platform were previously champions of the industry. They have since made U-turns on their positions.

Texas’ Republican Governor Greg Abbott is the starkest example of this, as he oversaw the creation of tax breaks that made his state home to the second largest data center market in the US.

Abbott has since said that AI data centers should not be built in rural Texas neighborhoods, that their tax breaks should be eliminated, and has called for a comprehensive audit of all data center projects advancing through the state’s interconnection process.

Illinois’ Democratic Governor JB Pritzker signed data center tax incentives back in 2019 and has historically praised the industry for creating jobs. But he has since suspended processing agreements for new data centers applying for tax incentives, stating in early July that the state had “a responsibility to protect working families and local communities as the data center industry rapidly expands.”

The candidates running against Abbott and Pritzker have pointed out that the pair are recent converts to the anti-data center cause, emphasizing their historical support for the industry as proof of untrustworthiness.

“Abbott has accepted over $20 million in campaign contributions from donors with major stakes in data centers and spent recent months branding Texas the “epicenter” of AI development and championing the industry his giveaway attracted – before flip-flopping on data centers for political points,” reads the campaign website for Gina Hinojosa, Abbott’s Democratic challenger.

“Working families, seniors on fixed incomes, and small businesses are feeling the pinch, yet J.B. Pritzker hands out tax incentives and subsidies to data centers that place enormous demand on our electric grid,” reads a blog post on a website for Darren Bailey, Pritzker’s Republican challenger.

Looking beyond

Governors can approve or veto laws at the state level. This gives them sizable influence over data center policy, which uses state-level tax incentives, moratoria, and a host of other legislative carrots or sticks to attract or repel data center developers.

DCD analysis of all Senate races also indicates that roughly 65 percent of Democratic or Republican candidates – and 54 percent of all candidates – have mentioned data centers in their campaign.

The constraints of national party politics means that it is harder to set the pace when it comes to data center policy. But there are indications that a candidate’s approach to the issue could be make-or-break.

“More than any other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck,” reads a private memo titled “Ohio Data Center Risk” from the National Republican Senatorial Committee in reference to Ohio senator and incumbent candidate Jon Husted.

“If voters’ perceptions of data centers are not fixed quickly, the campaign against them will expand far beyond Ohio.”