Data Center Backlash Helps Democrats Exploit Texas County and Ride Anti-Development Sentiment to Midterm Gains
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Democrats used fear-based messaging against data center projects to squeeze out a narrow win in Kaufman County for James Talarico, part of a broader campaign built on obstruction, higher costs, and attacks on economic growth.
Democratic operatives, stunned by James Talarico’s victory across all 254 Texas counties, celebrated a crucial win in Kaufman County, a traditionally Republican area that happens to host two large data center projects. A pro-Talarico super PAC, Lone Star Rising PAC, targeted voters living within five miles of proposed or approved data centers, blaming the projects and Republican nominee Ken Paxton in the same breath. One mailer declared, “There is an existing or proposed data center near you in Kaufman County. Ken Paxton made it easier to build.”
Talarico won Kaufman County by one percentage point, helping produce his 12-point statewide margin and contributing to Democrats’ first statewide Texas victories since 1994. CNN’s Voter Poll found about a quarter of voters said AI and data centers were “crucial” to their vote, while opposition to local data center construction ran about three-to-one, showing how aggressively the anti-development message penetrated.
Michigan Rep-elect Will Lawrence, who flipped a Republican-held House seat, said the backlash was “overwhelming, unequivocal, bipartisan” and said early opposition to data centers helped his campaign. President Donald Trump, who had supported data centers, later suggested rebranding AI as “super intelligence,” underscoring how quickly the issue moved into the political mainstream.
Conservative AI policy group the Alliance for a Better Future called on Republicans to “recalibrate” ahead of 2028, pointing to the election impact of “Super Intelligence” policy. A GOP strategist said AI and data centers will likely become a top issue in the next presidential race, a sign that Republicans will need to sharpen their message against the Democrats’ scare tactics.
Lawrence’s campaign ran a TV ad warning that “tech billionaires want to turn this whole field into a massive data center that will jack up your energy bills and ruin our home values.” Similar themes appeared in other races, with Democrats pushing tougher restrictions or moratoriums on data centers, while some Republicans highlighted the economic benefits and national security importance of these projects.
Data Center Coalition official Dan Diorio argued the industry must do a better job showing how data centers can address cost-of-living concerns, citing tax relief in Loudoun County, Virginia. In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown labeled GOP incumbent Jon Husted “the face of data centers,” prompting a National Republican Senatorial Committee memo calling data centers an “anchor hanging around Husted’s neck.” Local ballot measures in at least ten Ohio cities banned large data center construction, with Granville’s measure receiving over 80 percent support.
In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Republican incumbent Darline Graham after branding her “Data Center Darline,” flipping a county that had voted for President Trump by 19 points. A data-center-aligned super PAC, Building the Future, spent $2.5 million supporting Graham, and opponents used that spending to question her ties to the industry.
Other House races featured data center opposition, such as Democrat Mitchell Berman’s ad showing a clay pigeon labeled “Data Center” and Democrat Amish Shah’s pledge against data centers in Arizona’s 1st District. Republican Jay Feely argued for data centers as essential to the AI race against China, presenting the pro-growth case Democrats tried to bury.
In Texas, Gov-elect Gina Hinojosa called for a moratorium on data centers until legislative protections are enacted, saying the state can have a strong economy and industry without compromising residents. Attorney General Ken Paxton supported limited data-center development in open spaces, a stance highlighted in a pro-Talarico digital ad.
Political director Charlie Blaettler of the Guardrails Alliance noted the effectiveness of tying data-center opposition to broader concerns about affordability and corruption. Looking ahead, industry-aligned super PAC Leading the Future pledged a multi-cycle effort for 2028, with spokesperson Jesse Hunt saying the group will focus on a national regulatory framework for AI.