Trump keeps embracing data centers even as they become toxic in midterm
races
[August 21, 2026]
By JESSE BEDAYN, MARC LEVY and SCOTT BAUER
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, speaking alongside
cryptocurrency leaders at the White House this week, made a statement
that Republican and Democratic candidates alike wouldn't touch with a
10-foot pole.
“If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a
chance to get a big plant in, an AI plant or a data center,” Trump said,
“I would absolutely want it because the jobs are enormous and the money
paid, the taxes paid, are just enormous.”
It's not the kind of message anyone is using in competitive midterm
races.
The race to build data centers, which power artificial intelligence and
cloud computing, has run aground amid frustration from voters who don't
want to live near the massive warehouse campuses. Even the Senate
Republicans' campaign arm warned that anger over data centers — some of
which dwarf football stadiums and use more energy than small cities —
could cost them a seat.
Opposition stretches across the political spectrum because of fears that
the behemoths will jack up electricity bills, drain people's water
wells, create unhealthy amounts of air and noise pollution and forever
change a community's character — all while getting lucrative tax breaks
from states competing for their business.
Trump has framed data centers as a necessary component of a top national
and economic security priority: winning the AI race against China.
However, he also has acknowledged concern over rising electricity bills,
previously saying “it’s only fair” for the companies to shoulder their
costs.
He also suggested this week that data centers need “a little public
relations help.” In recent months, he has gotten tech giants to sign a
voluntary pledge to shield U.S. consumers from higher utility bills from
data centers, even as he pushes to streamline the process for companies
and utilities to build their own power plants.
But building power plants doesn't happen overnight, and the immediate
political reality for candidates across the country is far different.
“It is yet another dimension in which the White House appears tone deaf
— tone deaf at best and indifferent to the interest of other Republican
candidates at worst,” said James Henson, the director of the Texas
Politics Project at the University of Texas, Austin, a nonpartisan
research organization.
Republican committee issues warning over data centers in Ohio
Statewide candidates from Nevada to Pennsylvania, both Republican and
Democratic, are weaponizing data centers against their opponents, and
candidates who absorb those attacks are subsequently trying to distance
themselves from them.
In Ohio, a data center hot spot with closely contested races for
governor and U.S. Senate, the National Republican Senatorial Committee
warned in a memo Tuesday that Sen. Jon Husted is vulnerable to losing
his seat because of the centers.
Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown is airing attack ads against Husted
that call him the “face of data centers in Ohio” as people gather
signatures for a statewide referendum to ban their construction.
The Republican memo said it's been a “sleeper issue for the entire
election cycle.”
“Brown is using it because it works,” the NRSC said. “More than any
other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around
Husted’s neck. If he loses and data centers get the blame, politicians
across the country will take notice — and they will not go near the next
one.”
The memo suggested voters may balk at Democratic candidates who want to
stop data center construction altogether in favor of a Republican
candidate who only wants data centers built if a community approves it
in a local vote and it pays for its own power, water and other
utilities.
Most registered voters oppose building a data center in their area,
according to a July Fox News poll.
Still, the issue falls behind other voter concerns, such as cost of
living, as November looms. A Quinnipiac Poll conducted in June asked
voters what issues were important in deciding who to vote for in U.S.
House elections, and about 4 in 10 mentioned AI data centers.
Trump’s statement already put to use in Nevada race
In Nevada, Democrat Aaron Ford quickly tied Trump’s statement to
Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, characterizing them as being in “lockstep
on data centers.”
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President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with technology
leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, Aug.
19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
In a statement, Ford said Trump and Lombardo are “Nevada data
centers’ biggest cheerleaders” who “only care about catering to
their ‘billionaire friends’ while Nevadans pay the price.”
Ford this week unveiled a policy platform in which he said he would
halt new state tax breaks for data centers — he estimated them at
$200 million currently — while auditing existing projects to ensure
they are delivering on promises. He also said he would ensure data
centers pay for their electricity needs, do not deplete Nevada’s
water supply and help local governments negotiate strong benefits
agreements with developers.
Texas' governor changed course and got a jab from Trump
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who last November celebrated Google’s
announcement of a $40 billion investment there by calling the state
“the epicenter of AI development,” is under attack from his
Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa, over his pursuit of data
center development.
Abbott has since changed course by promising tougher action, such as
removing the state’s sales tax exemption and holding up projects to
review their energy usage.
Trump criticized the shift, saying “I think it's a mistake” in a
recent interview with Punchbowl News.
Asked about Trump's support for data centers, Abbott's office said
the governor's “top priority is to protect Texans’ safety and
quality of life and ensure the integrity of our power grid and water
supply.”
“Simply put, Texans must come first,” Abbott's office said.
Data centers complicated Wisconsin governor race
While Trump embraces data centers, even some of his allies are using
them for political attacks. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, running for
Wisconsin governor, released a TV ad this week branding his
Democratic opponent as “Data Center David Crowley.”
The ad includes a clip of Crowley saying Wisconsin could become the
“AI and data hub not only for the entire country, but for the entire
globe.”
Crowley has said local communities must have veto authority while
also calling data centers a part of the modern economy that could
bring significant economic benefits to the state.
Tiffany, who Trump has endorsed, has also said positive things about
data centers. In January, Tiffany called data centers “exciting new
technology,” in an interview with PBS Wisconsin. And last December,
he voted for a bipartisan bill known as the SPEED Act, which is
designed to accelerate construction of new AI infrastructure
projects like data centers. It hasn't passed the Senate.
Neither Tiffany nor Crowley support a moratorium on new data center
construction.
Tiffany has called for repealing the state tax incentive for data
centers, while Crowley has not. They both have called for stricter
regulation.
Crowley, at an event Wednesday where he received the endorsement of
the environmental group Clean Wisconsin, downplayed the attacks
Tiffany has made against his data center position.
“He’s getting very good at saying one thing and doing something
different,” Crowley said, pointing to Tiffany’s votes in support of
the SPEED Act.
“What Congressman Tom Tiffany’s doing is lying because he’s trying
to run away from his record in Congress,” Crowley said.
___
Bauer reported from Madison, Wisconsin, and Levy from Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania. Linley Sanders contributed from Washington.
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