Voters are fed up with data centers.
asserted
Voters → feed → centers
Both parties are trying to cash in for midterms
In campaign ads airing everywhere from Georgia to Iowa, Republicans and Democrats are confronting the same enemy: data centers powering the artificial intelligence boom.
asserted
Republicans → try → boom
An NPR analysis of political advertising data from the firm AdImpact found that since January, campaigns and outside groups have spent more than $45 million on ads mentioning data centers in this year's gubernatorial, House and Senate races.
asserted
campaigns → find → races
The two major parties driving that spending are largely making the same argument: the sprawling facilities get too many tax breaks, drive up electricity bills and need reining in.
asserted
facilities → drive → bills
From January to August, spending was nearly identical: over $22 million supported Republican candidates and more than $21 million for Democratic candidates, with independents driving the rest.
asserted
independents → support → rest
Still, Democrats ran almost twice as many ads as Republicans — 127 compared to 67 — and spread their messaging across more states and races.
asserted
Democrats → run → states
The ads are clustered in states with competitive races, like Wisconsin and Michigan.
asserted
ads → cluster → Wisconsin
Mentions of data centers have grown from just a handful in ads from January, to 62 in June, more than 110 in July and about 164 in August, as the election draws nearer and the issue continues to heat up.
asserted
issue → grow → August
A June Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 77% of Americans are concerned about data centers raising electricity costs and two-thirds of Democrats and half of Republicans said they'd oppose a data center in their community.
asserted
they → find → community
This bipartisan anxiety helps explain why candidates in both parties are talking about the issue.
asserted
candidates → help → issue
Michael Franz, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks political advertising, said data centers give each side the talking points it wants.
asserted
it → track → points
Apart from a chance to talk about affordability, "Democrats can latch on to environmental concerns," Franz said, adding that for Republicans, criticizing data centers is a way "to go in opposition to big corporations, in opposition to a system that doesn't care about you.
asserted
that → talk → you
"
Data centers are a unique issue where "MAGA Republicans and liberal Democrats" land in the same place, he said.
asserted
he → land → place
The convergence around affordability
Ads from both parties are tying data centers to rising energy costs.
asserted
Ads → tie → costs
A Believe in Wisconsin PAC ad for Wisconsin's Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley, which the group spent $634,795 to air in August, promises that Crowley "will lower costs, make housing affordable, stop AI data centers from making your energy bills skyrocket."
asserted
bills → believe → centers
Byron Donalds, Florida's Republican gubernatorial nominee, casts himself as a check on data centers, by vowing to "protect Florida families and communities from data centers that jack up utility rates and make everything else more expensive," and "fight for a ratepayer protection plan."
asserted
everything → cast → plan
The Friends of Byron Donalds PAC paid over $2.5 million to air the ad.
asserted
PAC → pay → ad
Similar ads have run in support of Democrat Rob Sand in Iowa and Republican Ty Masterson in Kansas.
asserted
ads → run → Kansas
A Republican Party operative spoke to NPR about this on condition of anonymity, and said the party is not commenting publicly on data centers because the views within the party vary.
asserted
views → speak → party
They said "The most popular answer that we've seen is: We could potentially have data centers as long as they pay for their own energy," adding that data centers are necessary to win the race against China "and increase jobs in local communities."
uncertain
centers → say → communities
Similarly, Olivia Davis, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Governors Association said data centers are creating deep concerns around affordability and utility costs.
asserted
centers → say → affordability
"That's why it's being included in paid media," she said.
asserted
she → include → media
Georgia and Ohio: where data centers take center stage
According to data from AdImpact, more than half of the GOP's spending on ads mentioning data centers has been in Georgia and the state has captured about 30% of total spending on data center ads.
uncertain
state → take → ads
Georgia's contest for governor is the race that has spent the most on ads mentioning data centers — $12.8 million across nine ads.
asserted
that → spend → ads
Six ads discouraged voters from backing Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones who lost the June runoff to healthcare billionaire Rick Jackson.
asserted
who → discourage → Jackson
The ads, some of which were run by Georgians for Integrity, a group that has dropped millions attacking Jones since 2025, used data centers as a bogeyman for Jones' alleged corruption.
asserted
that → run → corruption
In Ohio's U.S. Senate race, supporters of Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown have spent millions to describe his opponent, Republican Sen. Jon Husted, as the "the face of data centers," and accuse him of "giving corporations over $2.5 billion in out of control tax breaks and causing electric bills to spike by thousands of dollars."
asserted
bills → spend → dollars
Republicans are aware of the shifting tide.
asserted
Republicans → shift → tide
In an internal memo obtained by NPR and first reported by Axios, the National Republican Senatorial Committee singled out the Ohio race, called data centers a "sleeper issue for the entire election cycle," and warned the tech industry that a Husted loss would make politicians nationwide wary of them.
asserted
politicians → obtain → them
Husted isn't airing ads on the topic.
asserted
Husted → air → topic
He championed data centers as Ohio's lieutenant governor but has since introduced congressional legislation to protect ratepayers from the higher electric rates that data centers can cause.
asserted
centers → champion → that
In an interview with Spectrum News, Husted addressed a seeming shift in his position.
asserted
Husted → address → position
I was always trying to hold these companies accountable by making them pay local property taxes," he said, also highlighting his push to require the companies to hire locally.
asserted
he → try → companies
"So this is very consistent for me, holding them accountable."
A local issue with national attention
The Ohio contest is a rare Senate race with heavy spending on ads mentioning data centers.
asserted
contest → hold → centers
According to AdImpact data, gubernatorial races spent the most on such ads, about $32 million, with House races in second place, spending $8 million and Senate races coming in third at roughly $5.3 million.
uncertain
races → accord → million
"The federal government doesn't really play a role in permitting the construction of new data centers," said Darrell M. West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center for Technology Innovation and co-editor in chief of TechTank.
asserted
West → play → TechTank
"Governors are under a lot of pressure to slow the construction of new data centers just based on public opposition to them.
asserted
Governors → slow → them
The issue, however, has spilled beyond gubernatorial races.
asserted
issue → spill → races
In some of the country's marquee Senate contests, candidates such as Texas's Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico have said that Washington should step in.
asserted
Washington → say → Talarico
The Republican turn against data centers is more striking because experts say that the party has positioned itself as pro-business.
asserted
party → say → itself
…and 5 more, not listed.
