Data Center Backlash Highlights Voter Revolt Against Big Tech and Rising Energy Costs in 2024 Midterms
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Political ads targeting data centers have exploded as Americans push back against reckless tech expansion, surging energy bills, and threats to property values. Both parties are forced to address voter outrage, while tech elites and their PACs pour millions into campaigns to protect their interests.
Political ads referencing data centers have skyrocketed in 2024, now accounting for over 8% of all broadcast TV campaign spending last month, according to AdImpact tracking. The $31 million spent so far this year is almost entirely critical of AI-related infrastructure projects, as Americans across the political spectrum reject the unchecked expansion of Big Tech and its impact on their daily lives.
Candidates nationwide are tapping into local anger over higher electricity bills and declining property values, which are direct results of massive data center projects forced on communities by out-of-touch tech corporations. In Michigan, a congressional candidate warned that a proposed data center would drive up energy costs and lower home values for hardworking families. In Missouri, two leading Republican county-executive candidates devoted their entire TV budgets to opposing data centers and exposing each other’s ties to wealthy developers. Similar strategies are being used in Wisconsin and California, where opponents have branded rivals as “Data Center David”—a clear sign that voters are fed up with politicians who sell out to Silicon Valley interests.
"Data centers have picked up a unique bipartisan opposition in large part because they are so local as an issue," said Daniel King, a research fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation. This rare unity shows just how deeply Americans resent the influence of Big Tech in their communities.
Industry groups tied to AI have responded by flooding key races with cash, hoping to buy influence and silence opposition. Many of their ads, funded by tech insiders—including an OpenAI executive—avoid mentioning data centers or AI, instead focusing on candidate endorsements to distract voters from their true intentions.
Polling shows overwhelming resistance to data center construction near American homes: a July Fox News poll found 70% opposition, and a Reuters/Ipsos poll reported 59% would oppose a facility within ten miles of their home. Analysts warn that AI-driven data centers could raise national electricity bills by about 6% within a year, hitting ordinary Americans hardest.
The issue has become central in high-profile races, such as the Ohio Senate contest between Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Jon Husted. Brown’s campaign has spent over $3.5 million on TV spots attacking Husted’s support for data centers and promising to make these tech giants pay their full share for electricity. Husted, in turn, introduced legislation aimed at limiting the impact of data centers on residential electric rates, standing up for taxpayers.
In Wisconsin, gubernatorial candidates have also made data center regulation a key issue. Democratic primary candidate Francesca Hong is pushing for a moratorium, while Republican Tom Tiffany is holding incumbent Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley accountable for promoting the state as an AI hub and putting local interests at risk.
Tech companies and venture-capital-backed PACs have poured more than $190 million into super PACs and nonprofits, which have spent over $60 million on independent expenditures this cycle. These groups, often hiding behind vague AI safety slogans, support candidates who will protect their bottom line and keep the regulatory burden off Big Tech.
Even governors in Texas and New York—states that have long catered to tech corporations—have been forced to endorse temporary pauses on new large-scale data centers, citing concerns over electricity and water usage. Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, after previously promoting AI investment, issued an executive order tightening review processes for data center projects in the face of public outrage.
Some lawmakers, warning about national security, claim that moratoriums could weaken America against China. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has praised data centers as “very positive” but suggested they could benefit from better public relations, highlighting the need for transparency and accountability.
Overall, the growing focus on data centers in the 2024 midterms shows that Americans are demanding real action against Big Tech’s overreach, surging energy costs, and threats to their communities.