As the backlash against data centers mounts, American political strategists are scrambling to balance immense public sentiment against the facilities with their obligation to big business.
In the Republican Party’s Senate campaign arm, a recently leaked memo exposes just how deep the anxieties go. First reported by Axios, the private document was addressed to major AI companies, warning that the public’s disgust with data centers could ruin the party’s hopes at a pivotal seat in the Senate.
The memo addresses the Democratic campaign to unseat Ohio Senator Jon Husted, who filled the hole left when JD Vance ascended to the Vice Presidency. It warns in stark terms that the Democratic Party has made data centers the pivotal issue of this election — and that if the tactic proves successful in defeating Husted, a wave of similar anti-data center campaigns would follow.
“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 exclaims. “This has become a sleeper issue for the entire election cycle.”
Going on, the memorandum gripes that “campaigns or party committees can not fix the toxic brand of an entire segment of the economy.”
“The companies that need these projects built have to fix how Ohioans see them,” it continues. “If voters’ perceptions of data centers are not fixed quickly, the campaign against them will expand far beyond Ohio.”
That’ll be easier said than done in the Buckeye state, where the data center boom is exploiting local emergency services and contributing to a meteoric rise in utility prices.
And of course, data centers are just one piece of the puzzle, as broader AI harms have also taken their toll on the state. In a testimony offered in support of draft AI regulations in Ohio, CEO of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation Tony Coder said that at least four children in the state who died by suicide penned suicide notes using AI chatbots.
For its part, the tech industry is trying to claw back support, rolling out a number of kitschy ads meant to win the public’s trust on data centers — though at this point in the game, it may be far too little, and far too late.
More on data centers: Protests Against Data Centers Are Now Threatening $130 Billion of Big Tech’s Crucial Investments
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