2026 Midterms: Data Centers Become Toxic Issue
Original: These Midterm Races Will Decide Data Centers’ Political Fate
Why This Matters
Data center politics could shift Congressional control and reshape AI infrastructure policy.
In the 2026 US midterms, data center opposition has gone bipartisan. Senate, House, and governor races across Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, and Texas see candidates competing to appear most anti-data center, with energy bills and corporate power as core attack lines.
Data centers have rapidly become one of the defining issues of the 2026 midterm cycle. Public sentiment turned sharply negative earlier this year, and the backlash is cutting across party lines—many Republicans are breaking from President Trump on the issue. At least five candidates have been branded with a "Data Center [Name]" attack label by opponents trying to highlight industry ties.
The Ohio Senate race is the one to watch. The National Republican Senatorial Committee issued a memo in August warning that Democrat Sherrod Brown was hitting Republican Senator Jon Husted so hard on data centers—calling him "the face of data centers in Ohio"—that the issue could decide the race. Senate Democrats subsequently killed a Husted-sponsored ratepayer protection bill, with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling it "toothless."
In the House, where all 435 seats are contested, data center ads are running in toss-up districts from Michigan to Pennsylvania. Michigan's 7th district Democrat Will Lawrence rode local opposition to data centers through a tough primary and is now airing anti-data center ads against Republican Tom Barrett. In Pennsylvania's 8th, both Republican incumbent Rob Bresnahan and Democrat Paige Cognetti are running attack ads on the industry—despite Bresnahan holding data-center-related stocks. In Ohio's 9th, incumbent Marcy Kaptur is attacking Derek Merrin over alleged tax breaks for the sector.