Data Centers

The Backlash Against Data Centers Is Bipartisan, Nationwide, and Wrong

From Texas to Ohio, political candidates are backing voters’ bad arguments for opposing data centers.

Tosin Akintola | 8.26.2026 1:52 PM

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(Photo: Emily Curiel/TNS/Newscom)

Americans really don't like data centers. 

According to a recent poll from Heatmap Pro, 75 percent of Americans "would oppose a new data center being built near where they live." And as the responses from a March Gallup poll show, opponents of these facilities think data centers are noisy, bad for the environment, and bad for property values. Other commonly cited concerns include the data centers' exorbitant water and electricity use.

These would be valid reasons to oppose data centers if they weren't unfounded. Yet, true to form, politicians are trying to capitalize on the misdirected public fury.

On Sunday, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott went on ABC News' This Week with George Stephanopoulos to discuss why he had "pressed pause" on new data center construction in the state. After calling Texas the "epicenter of AI development" last November, Abbott recently mounted an about-face to slow data center buildout in his state. In June, he ordered the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to take steps to protect Texas residents "from the costs of data center expansion." In August, Abbott........

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