The data center backlash has entered the midterms conversation.<\/p>\n
Politicians from across the spectrum have changed their minds \u2014 or at least their policy positions \u2014 about data centers in the past few months as public resistance to their construction has skyrocketed<\/a>. A major example is Texas, where just about one year ago, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott was proclaiming<\/a> that his state was the \u201cepicenter of AI development.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, after months of grassroots organizing and community outcry, Abbott is pushing to slow the roll of new data centers in Texas. He\u2019s imposed a statewide moratorium on new construction pending an audit over the new connections to Texas\u2019s power grid. While he hasn\u2019t explicitly said the change is tied to his reelection campaign this November, the pause is expected to last through the election.<\/p>\n As dramatic as Abbott\u2019s about-face has been, he\u2019s not alone: Democrats and Republicans alike are following suit.<\/p>\n Jeremy Merrill<\/a>, a data reporter at the Washington Post, analyzed<\/a> thousands of social media posts and newsletters to see what elected officials on both sides of the aisle are saying about data centers. He spoke with Today, Explained co-host Noel King about his findings, what they say going into midterm elections, and how the backlash might change the way we think about what politicians owe to their constituents.<\/p>\n Below is an excerpt of their conversation, edited for length and clarity. There\u2019s much more in the full podcast, so listen to Today, Explained wherever you get podcasts, including Apple Podcasts<\/a>, Pandora<\/a>, and Spotify<\/a>.<\/p>\n Data centers didn\u2019t used to be a big deal. And now, almost all of a sudden, they\u2019re a big issue. Candidates are falling over themselves to sound tough about data centers. And data centers are overwhelmingly portrayed as a problem rather than an opportunity or a benefit.<\/p>\n A great example is Sen. Jon Husted, who\u2019s a Republican senator from Ohio, who\u2019s up for election this November. He used to praise data center projects that were coming to Ohio when he was lieutenant governor because it would help establish Ohio as \u201can important tech hub in America.\u201d<\/p>\n He said that data centers are essential to our digital lives. And now he\u2019s saying<\/a> he\u2019s trying to \u201cprotect Americans from having to foot the bill for data centers.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s really emblematic of a shift that happened all across the Republican Party in about February of this year. That\u2019s when the bulk of messages from Republicans about data centers flipped from focusing on them as bringing benefits to their states and communities, to talking about their downsides.<\/p>\n This is really a case of the anger and unhappiness bubbling up from everyday people up to political elites. And that grassroots anger was all across the political spectrum over a whole range of issues: power bills, claims about how much water data centers may use, air pollution, eminent domain, taxes, subsidies, and a generalized, physical manifestation of the anxiety that people feel about what AI is going to do to our society, to our brains, to our kids and to our jobs.<\/p>\n We know that it\u2019s not just one single candidate, maybe even not just a handful, because you reported that the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned that, \u201cData centers are the anchor hanging around Husted\u2019s neck.\u201d <\/p>\n That\u2019s pretty strong language. Is the National Republican Senatorial Committee admitting that the wrong position on data centers is enough to lose a candidate a race at this point?<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s something that they\u2019re certainly worried about. He\u2019s in a tough race. It\u2019s a tossup<\/a>. And presumably you\u2019re looking for an edge, or to prevent your opponent from getting an edge over you.<\/p>\n What about President Donald Trump\u2019s messaging on data centers? He, initially at least, was very bullish on AI investment in the US. What has Trump been saying?<\/p>\n