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With Election Day about three weeks away, political analysts largely agree the economy is the top issue on voters’ minds as they prepare to cast their ballots.
But data centers, and the impact they’re having on communities across the country, fall under that category, according to Stephen Farnsworth, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Mary Washington.
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Virginia, for one, has hundreds of data centers, with many scattered across Loudoun County and other Northern Virginia communities.
More broadly, voters across the U.S. have negative views of data centers. About 75% said they wouldn’t support a new data center getting built close to where they live, according to a Heatmap Pro poll that the group Embold Research conducted.
“The data center story fits in with the economic anxiety story because people are very concerned that some of the deals that are being offered to data center developers involve processes that will end up with people paying higher bills for their utilities,” Farnsworth said. “The concern, above all, is one of economic anxiety, and the data center story is part of that.”
In many cases, candidates are noticing. Erin Covey, House editor at The Cook Political Report, said mainly Democrats but some Republicans are supporting moratoriums on data centers and calling for more regulation.
Some Super PACs are funded by artificial intelligence companies, Covey said, and there are “candidates who have received support from those Super PACs in the past, that could now be a bit of a liability for them going into the general election.”
Some Virginia voters have been critical of the proposed NextEra/Dominion Energy merger, worrying it could cause their utility bills to go up.
Holding a sign opposing the merger at a rally last week, Natalie Pien said data centers are playing an increasingly large role, “and because of the way our government works, I think every elected official needs to have some kind of position on data centers.”
Preparing to enter the Fairfax County Government Center for Friday’s hearing, meanwhile, Michael Powers, president of IBEW Local 70, said data centers create good jobs.
“They pay taxes. They improve municipalities and the ability to educate our young people,” Powers said.
In Loudoun, home to a stretch known as “Data Center Alley,” some elected officials have been grappling with ways to crack down on the industry and slow down the rapid growth of data centers.
Regarding how the issue affected her vote, Sarah Entsynger said Loudoun County has “already given its soul to the data center world, so that didn’t affect it at all because there’s no choice issue for us here. There’s choices other places.”
After voting in Leesburg on Tuesday, Shane Crowe said data centers are connected to transmission line projects, which are “connected to everyone’s worries about AI, and then the way that connects to foreign policy as well. It’s quite central in the conversations that are happening around here.”
While data centers bring Loudoun close to $2 billion in tax revenue, Earl Hower said after voting Tuesday that elected leaders “never planned on the actual needs for power and the impact it’s going to have on other residents of the county and other businesses.”
Christina Baker is worrying about the amount of water and space data centers use and called it a complicated issue.
“It’s necessary to a point, but to what extent?” Baker said.
Now, Covey, the House editor, said there are a growing number of ads about data centers from both political parties.
Candidates are now responding to voters’ mounting frustration.
“Some of it is just the overall existential threat that AI poses to people and their livelihoods,” Covey said. “The growth of these data centers has been to support this new technology, but voters also are frustrated by the amount of energy resources that these data centers are using.”
Why data centers are becoming a top economic issue ahead of this fall’s midterms 2026
IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-10-13 23:54:32
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