Opposition to new data centers in the United States has surged rapidly, turning a previously low-profile issue into a central campaign topic ahead of the November midterm elections. Politicians from both parties are repositioning themselves as voters express mounting concerns.
According to the Pew Research Center, there are currently more than 4,000 data centers operating or under construction in the U.S., with about one-third concentrated in three states: Virginia, Texas and California. State-level figures (total/operating/planned) include Virginia 685 (398/287), Texas 466 (296/170), California 331 (277/54), Illinois 262 (139/123), Georgia 235 (94/141) among others where major projects are underway.
Why people oppose new centers
The backlash is driven by worries about energy and water consumption, local costs and environmental impacts. U.S. data centers consumed 183 terawatt-hours in 2024, more than 4 percent of the nation’s electricity usage—an amount roughly equivalent to Pakistan’s annual consumption. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that U.S. data center electricity demand could rise to 426 terawatt-hours by 2030.
Water use is another pressure point: U.S. data centers used roughly 64 million cubic meters of water in 2023, and in extreme scenarios the direct water demand of hyperscale facilities could reach about 125 million cubic meters per year by 2028. The Guardian reported that two-thirds of new data centers will be built in areas that experienced drought over the past year.
Local effects are already visible on household bills. On the PJM power market (covering Illinois through North Carolina), data center presence has contributed in some places to average residential bills rising by $16–18 per month. Carnegie Mellon University research suggests that data centers and crypto mining together could raise electricity bills by an average of 8 percent by 2030, and in parts of Virginia increases could exceed 25 percent.
Public opinion has swung decisively
Public attitudes shifted markedly within a year. In August 2025 Heatmap found the public nearly evenly split—43 percent for and 42 percent against new data centers near their homes. By mid-2026 that split had collapsed: roughly three-quarters of Americans now say they would oppose a data center being built near them, with only about 15 percent open to such projects. A July Fox News poll likewise found seven out of ten voters opposed to a data center near their home and 78 percent in favor of slowing such investments to address environmental and resident concerns.
Gallup’s May poll detailed the reasons: two-thirds of supporters cited economic benefits, with 55 percent specifically expecting job creation and 13 percent noting tax revenue. Opponents cited a range of concerns: half objected to excessive resource use (18 percent each singled out water and energy), 16 percent named environmental impacts (noise, air and water pollution), while around 20 percent worried about declining local quality of life or higher living costs and utility bills. Others raised broader ethical and societal concerns about AI.
Political realignment: governors and candidates react
Rising resistance has prompted concrete policy moves. In July, New York state’s Democratic leadership imposed a one-year moratorium on data centers with power needs over 50 megawatts. Governor Kathy Hochul said the measure responded to risks of higher utility bills, strained natural resources and uncertainty for New Yorkers, and she has proposed revoking tax exemptions for large data centers.
On the national stage, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pushed for a moratorium and stronger federal safeguards; Sanders also publicly called on Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic to halt AI development in a recent open letter, arguing the technology has outpaced human control.
Republican politicians have not uniformly defended the industry. Some governors and candidates who once courted tech investment have moved to restrict new builds or end tax breaks. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, once a vocal promoter who labeled his state an “epicenter” for AI development, has advocated pausing rural construction and eliminating incentives after political pressure. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, previously friendly to tech investment, also tightened rules after facing criticism.
In Midwest races, Republican candidates have used anti–data center messaging: in Wisconsin, Tom Tiffany has run ads portraying his Democratic opponent as pro–data center, while in Wyoming Chuck Gray won a Republican primary campaigning to halt data center expansion and seeking a federal ban.
Industry and Republican strategists worry about political fallout
Tech companies and Republican campaign groups have taken note. The Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee (NRSC) warned in a confidential memo that growing public outrage over data centers could cost Republicans seats—citing Jon Husted in Ohio as vulnerable because his opponents portray him as the face of data center expansion in a state with the fifth-most data centers in the country. The NRSC urged tech firms to improve local messaging about expected benefits and cost-sharing.
Donald Trump stands apart
Despite the broad political shift, former President Donald Trump has openly defended pursuing data centers. Last week he said that if he were a mayor or governor he would secure a large AI plant or data center because “the jobs are huge, the payments and taxes are simply huge,” signaling he would continue to back such investments even as many voters and some local leaders push back.
How long that stance will be sustainable is uncertain. As more states enact moratoria or tighten incentives and as voter sentiment hardens, politicians—including those in Trump’s own party—may face growing pressure to align with constituent concerns ahead of the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential race.
Why this matters
The debate links AI industry expansion to energy and water policy, local economic trade-offs and voter priorities. The clash between promised economic gains and tangible environmental and infrastructure costs has made data centers a force in state and federal politics, with potential to influence elections and regulatory decisions in the coming years.
(Data cited in this article come from Pew Research Center, International Energy Agency, The Guardian, Reuters, Gallup, Heatmap, Fox News, Carnegie Mellon University and related reporting from 2024–2026.)
