Build American AI — an advocacy group tied to pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future — is spending big on the AI data center fight, with plans to pour millions of dollars into battleground states, according to an announcement shared first with Axios. Why it matters: The data center backlash is becoming a defining issue of the midterms, and supporters of the developments are punching back. Driving the news: Build American AI, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, has about $50 million cash on hand. The group's campaign will begin in Kansas, Ohio and Wisconsin. The money will go toward paid advertising, grassroots engagement, research, earned media and public education.The message: The U.S. should build the infrastructure needed to lead the world in AI while protecting families, communities and the environment.The group said the campaign will expand as state legislatures develop bills for 2027 sessions.The advocacy group is also launching a new super PAC — Building the Future (a 527) — to back state and federal candidates aligned with its agenda and oppose those who aren't.For now, the group says it's focusing on the issues and not specific races. Zoom in: Build American AI is pointing to Colorado, Georgia and Texas as models for how states should approach data center development.Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) has been bullish on data centers. Georgia offers data center tax exemptions.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has spoken harshly of data centers in recent weeks, including requiring companies to pay their own infrastructure costs and pausing new grid approvals pending an audit.Abbott's approach, making companies pay for what they consume, is the right balance to strike, according to the advocacy group. The announcement says: "The continued build-out of data centers and new energy infrastructure must benefit communities first, and we will support leaders who advance policies that achieve that goal."The bottom line: Data center advocates are banking on voters viewing construction favorably when the industry covers its own costs, generates local tax revenue, and gives communities a choice.