Data center backlash scrambles US midterm politics
This file photo shows an Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center adjacent to single-family homes in Stone Ridge, Virginia on August 12, 2026. (AFP Photo)
The data centers powering America's artificial intelligence boom have become an unlikely target in November's midterm elections, as anger over rising electricity bills and noise turns Democrats — and a growing number of Republicans — against Big Tech.
Candidates in at least 21 races across 18 states have aired television advertisements mentioning data centers this cycle, according to marketing data cited by U.S. media, almost evenly divided between both parties.
On the grid serving Senate battleground Ohio, as well as 12 other states, demand from data centers drove up capacity costs by $9.3 billion in a single year, a 174 percent increase, according to an independent market monitor.
