Rising data center backlash shakes up midterm races
The Hill · C · trust 59/100
Comments: by Julia Shapero and Rachel Frazin - 08/22/26 5:00 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Julia Shapero and Rachel Frazin - 08/22/26 5:00 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING As public pushback to data centers boils over, politicians on both sides of the aisle are racing to distance themselves from the controversial facilities.
Key swing state candidates are scrambling to endorse stricter data center policies and accusing their opponents of being too cozy with the industry, as Americans become increasingly hostile to the rapid buildout of AI infrastructure.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), who once touted data center investments in the Keystone State, signed an order Tuesday implementing new requirements for developers to cover electricity costs and secure local approval for projects.
In Michigan, Republican Senate candidate former Rep. Mike Rogers announced Thursday that he is backing a one-year state moratorium on new data centers.
And former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is going after his opponent, incumbent Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), over his record on data centers in the Buckeye State. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) recently issued an internal memo warning that “data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck.”
Aru Shiney-Ajay, executive director of the progressive Sunrise Movement, told The Hill that during her canvassing in Michigan and Wisconsin, she has talked to voters who “are flipping their party affiliation because of the importance of data centers.”
Tech companies are pushing to build scores of new centers to fuel the development of AI, which requires vast amounts of computing power.
But in the face of growing concerns about electricity costs, water usage and other environmental impacts, public opinion has soured.
A Fox News poll released in late July found that 70 percent of voters oppose the building of a data center in their area to support AI, with 78 percent in support of slowing construction to address environmental and community concerns.
This appears to have shifted the political calculus for officials from both parties who previously embraced data centers.
Shapiro welcomed Amazon’s decision last year to spend $20 billion building two data centers in his state, touting AI as “yet another national security issue that Pennsylvania can lead on.”
At the time, Shapiro’s office also offered the company “exclusive early access” to a fast-track program, news outlet Heatmap reported, adding that the agreement was described in a memo labeled as being subject to a non-disclosure agreement.
However, the governor suggested Tuesday that since announcing those projects, “we’ve seen an unacceptable number of speculative proposals for data centers swamp our Commonwealth.”
“I’ve heard loud and clear from the people of Pennsylvania as I’ve traveled our Commonwealth, and I’m here to say that we will not be bullied by developers and bulldozed by the lawyers working for these big tech companies,” he added.
His order requires developers to sign consent orders committing to comply with the state’s restrictions, including covering the electricity costs associated with their projects and securing local approval.
It also bars current and future data center projects from participating in a program to fast-track permitting.
The announcement comes as Shapiro’s opponent in the Pennsylvania governor’s race, Republican Stacy Garrity, has knocked his support for the Amazon data centers, arguing in one campaign ad that “Shapiro sold us out.”
Shapiro hit back at Garrity in his own ad, calling the state treasurer “Pennsylvania’s number one fan of data centers.”
While Garrity herself has said in the past that Pennsylvania should be doing more to attract data centers, her campaign is now calling for a “pause” on future development.
“I think we can’t trust Governor Shapiro at all,” said Matt Beynon, media consultant for the Garrity campaign, adding that the latest policy plan is “not going to address what he’s the door he’s already opened. The horses are out of the barn.”
Shapiro campaign spokesperson Manuel Bonder had a similar message about the Republican, saying in a written statement, “Stacy Garrity’s long record of supporting completely unregulated data center development makes it clear that she just can’t be trusted.”
His administration, meanwhile, said that the latest order came because of the rapid pace of data center development in the state over the last year.
Rogers, who is facing off against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed in the highly competitive Michigan race, came out in favor of a data center moratorium on Thursday.
“I am calling for a one-year moratorium on new data centers until we establish a fair, transparent approval process that puts local communities first,” he said in a written statement.
His campaign clarified to The Hill that he was referring to a pause at the state level, where he would have no formal authority as U.S. senator.
“There is so much concern out there with Michigan citizens,” Rogers told NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich. “My argument is that we need to walk through those issues before we just throw these things out.”
The former lawmaker also took a swing at El-Sayed, suggesting his progressive opponent wants to send the issue to Washington.
“I think that’s a terrible idea,” he added. “The people who need to make these decisions live in these communities.”
El-Sayed’s campaign argued in a statement that Rogers has “a long track record of selling Michiganders out to his corporate donors,” suggesting he “would put a data center in every backyard in Michigan if he could make a…
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