Opposition to Data Centers Continues To Grow; It Could Pose Another Electoral Challenge to the GOP

Data centers are quickly becoming another challenge for politicians as the midterm elections loom large.

A new Politico poll found that about half of Americans oppose living within three miles of a data center. This was the highest level of opposition since it began polling on the issue.

In fact, 28 percent said they did not want data centers within three miles of their home in February.

"At first it sounds fine, the data centers bring jobs, they're not like warehouses or something," Sam Chen, a Pennsylvania Republican strategist, told the outlet. "And then as people find out about the environmental impact, about the water usage, the power that it might pull ... it kind of becomes that 'not-in-my-backyard' mindset."

The poll found that the issue favors Democrats, with 47 percent of those surveyed saying they'd be more likely to vote for a Democrat who opposed a data center. For Republicans, the figure was 36 percent.

The poll's findings align with others taken during this election cycle that have shown data centers are increasingly unpopular with the public. Data centers are necessary infrastructure for the development of AI. Critics say that the centers extract resources from communities - electricity, freshwater - while providing little benefit to local residents.

A CBS News/YouGov, poll in June also found that 50 percent of respondents not want to live near a data center. Only 20 percent said they would favor living near one, and the remaining 30 percent of respondents at that time were unsure.

Most said they were worried about the potential impact on local resources such as water and electricity, with 63 percent of respondents saying the impact would be mostly bad. They also had environmental concerns, with 60 percent worried that data centers would be mostly harmful.

Data Center Watch, an organization that tracks opposition to data centers, stated that between April and June of this year, opposition blocked or delayed at least 45 such projects valued at $68 billion.

The website noted that numerous communities across the country implemented data center moratoriums. "Thirty statehouses introduced, and many adopted, legislation, resolutions, or executive actions addressing data center siting, electricity and water constraints, and infrastructure cost-sharing," the organization stated.

Politico noted that at least 579 ads in battleground races have mentioned data centers, and nearly all of them did so negatively. The website reported that about 80 percent of those ads were run by the Democrats.

President Trump has generally supported data centers and criticized those who oppose them. Republican candidates have had to face either breaking with the president on the issue, or possibly, being on the wrong side of an issue some voters feel passionately about.

"They can break with the president and show their voters that they are not a puppet, and could try to contrast that with a Democratic candidate that is just always going to vote the party line," Chen told Politico.