{"id":8914,"date":"2026-08-11T19:42:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T19:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8914"},"modified":"2026-08-11T19:42:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T19:42:12","slug":"the-data-center-backlash-is-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8914","title":{"rendered":"The data center backlash is building"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s just in time for the midterm elections. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
A sign at a Maryland data center protest last month. (Graeme Sloan\/Bloomberg News)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

In his second term, President Donald Trump has prioritized the building of data centers; he has promised that massive warehouses filled with giant computers to feed artificial intelligence will make communities \u201crich.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Human rights groups sue Trump administration over International Criminal Court sanctions<\/a><\/p>\n

But the public is skeptical, and the bipartisan backlash to them is building just in time for the midterm elections.<\/p>\n

Data centers are popping up everywhere, and Trump has lowered environmental regulations, making it much easier to build them without community input.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think people quite get the scale,\u201d said Mark Muro, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies the AI economy.<\/p>\n

Conservatives in rural Texas<\/a> and liberals in New York oppose them being built in their communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cData centers are a big political issue wherever I look,\u201d said Republican campaign strategist Mike DuHaime.<\/p>\n

Building data centers provide some temporary construction jobs, Muro said.<\/p>\n

But once built, they are starving for energy<\/a>. Data centers can consume more electricity than entire cities<\/a>, and an independent analysis<\/a> of electricity bills predicts data centers could raise average Americans\u2019 utility costs by up to 40 percent by 2030. (Trump has urged states to find a way to lower electricity costs.) They also gobble up water, and in data center-heavy Virginia, diesel-powered sites are spewing air pollution<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This past year, dozens of communities, including in rural Indiana<\/a> and Oklahoma<\/a>, have passed or tried to pass moratoriums on building data centers. Last month, New York became the first state<\/a> to do so. Recent polling shows most Americans think<\/a> AI is developing too quickly and that much of America would be more comfortable with a nuclear power plant in their town than a data center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe deserve protection, not to be sacrificed for outside investment,\u201d three-time Trump voter Nikki Meador in East Texas told<\/a> The Washington Post. \u201cIndustrialization is irreversible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grassroots opposition to data centers has the potential to be the sleeper issue of November, said Jessica Taylor, Senate and governors editor for the Cook Political Report With Amy Walter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of skepticism about growth of AI and how these centers are zapping up resources,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cI see it across the board, especially in governor\u2019s races.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few months ago, very few politicians were speaking out against building data centers. That\u2019s changing rapidly. In Wisconsin, democratic socialist Francesca Hong<\/a> could win Democrats\u2019 nomination for governor Tuesday after proposing a moratorium on building data centers in the state.<\/p>

Read more National Democrats step up support for Rep. Max Miller\u2019s opponent<\/a><\/p>\n

Two full-time moms in Ohio are leading a long-shot push in that state<\/a> to get a ballot measure to ban data centers, an effort that is getting the attention of candidates for competitive Senate and governor\u2019s races.<\/p>\n

That has the potential to put some Republican candidates in conflict with Trump, whose administration is plowing ahead with data center construction. This summer, the Trump administration approved a data center on public land<\/a> in Boulder City, Nevada, despite enraged residents.<\/p>\n

Nevada has one of the most competitive governor\u2019s races in the country, and data centers are a top issue<\/a> with voters there. It\u2019s a dominant issue in the governor\u2019s race in Florida, where Trump-backed Republican candidate Byron Donalds has promised data centers won\u2019t raise residents\u2019 utility rates despite experts\u2019 skepticism.<\/a> In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R), a Trump ally running for reelection, is now campaigning<\/a> on restraining data centers.<\/p>\n

AI is such a new issue that politicians are still taking sides, said Muro. Overall, Democrats have focused on safety issues for kids, the bias of algorithms, privacy issues, civil rights and concerns over job displacement. \u201cDemocrats have, for some time, been bringing a stricter eye to AI development,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRepublicans have been what I call accelerationist,\u201d Muro said. \u201cIt\u2019s this mindset of \u2018Get out of the way because we need to move as fast as possible to outstrip China\u2019s development of superhuman intelligence.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trump administration is actively fighting regulation of AI, framing the technology as the future of the U.S. economy. Investment in AI is a big driver of the U.S. economy, and nations like China are rapidly building up their own AI capabilities. This summer, the administration is reorienting<\/a> hundreds of billions of dollars of research grants from universities to AI.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is how you lose the AI race,\u201d White House AI czar David Sacks posted on social media<\/a> last month, citing new developments in China. \u201cThe rest of the world won\u2019t play by our rules if we bog ourselves down.\u201d<\/p>\n

But members of both parties are starting to speak up about data centers. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) has proposed legislation to restrict construction of data centers. \u201cPeople just feel like they\u2019re under siege,\u201d he told the Wall Street Journa<\/a>l in May.<\/p>\n

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has proposed<\/a> blocking construction of all data centers in the United States until Congress can enact more regulations on AI.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are people who are talking about this being much more transformational than the Industrial Revolution in terms of impacting more people in a much more rapid timeline,\u201d Sanders told The Post in March. \u201cAnd I think it is amazing to me, given all of that, given the concerns that ordinary Americans have, that Congress has done virtually nothing to control AI and robotics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amber Phillips<\/i><\/a> writes <\/i>The 5-Minute Fix newsletter<\/i><\/a>, a quick analysis of the day\u2019s biggest political news. <\/i>Send her an email here<\/i><\/a>, or <\/i>ask a question<\/i><\/a> that could be featured in an upcoming newsletter.<\/i><\/p>

Read more House Democrats seek records in dropped Reflecting Pool case against ex-Olympian<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just in time for the midterm elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nThe data center backlash is building - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8914\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The data center backlash is building - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Just in time for the midterm elections.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8914\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-11T19:42:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/90fb0a7998d54e981f7a45b373478de6.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1333\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8914#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8914\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"The data center backlash is building\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-11T19:42:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8914\"},\"wordCount\":974,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8914#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/b83375354571b069b42fb9bed735407b.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8914#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8914\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8914\",\"name\":\"The data center backlash is building - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8914#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8914#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/b83375354571b069b42fb9bed735407b.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-11T19:42:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8914#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8914\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8914#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/b83375354571b069b42fb9bed735407b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/b83375354571b069b42fb9bed735407b.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1333,\"caption\":\"A demonstrator holds a \\\"No Data Center!\\\" sign during a protest against artificial intelligence (AI) outside Winchester Hall in Frederick, Maryland, US, on Saturday, July 18, 2026. 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