The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has reportedly alerted top AI firms, privately, about the potential political fallout from the negative public opinion surrounding U.S. data centers.
The NRSC disclosed that the Democrats have successfully made data centers a central issue in their campaign to unseat Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio). The Republicans fear that if Husted is defeated and data centers are held responsible, it could discourage politicians across the country from backing future data center projects, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing a memo.
Democrats are responding to growing public concerns over data centers. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who previously supported them, has shifted toward tighter regulation, signing an executive order imposing “strict guardrails” on data-center development.
The GOP is calling on AI firms to take steps to mitigate the public backlash. The memo warns that a loss for Husted could have far-reaching implications for AI companies’ plans to establish data centers nationwide to power future AI generations. The Republicans caution that if the public’s perception of data centers is not quickly addressed, the campaign against them could spread beyond Ohio.
NRSC did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.
Data Centers Split States And Voters
This development comes on the heels of President Donald Trump‘s assertion earlier this month that data centers could outgrow the oil industry and should be encouraged by states through tax cuts. He also criticized Texas for opposing data centers, calling it a “mistake” and arguing they generate significant economic benefits.
He had also criticized New York’s temporary moratorium on new large-scale data centers, calling it a “terrible decision” that could drive AI investment, jobs and tax revenue to states including Texas, Florida, Alabama and Arizona.
In July, the White House expanded its voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge for AI data centers to prevent them from increasing residential electricity bills. Current signatories of the pledge include Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL), OpenAI, xAI, and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Despite these efforts, public sentiment towards data centers remains negative, with figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) advocating for a moratorium on new AI data center construction.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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