A uniquely bipartisan backlash against data centers shakes up the midterms

Across the country and the political spectrum, candidates are embracing a growing backlash to artificial intelligence and the infrastructure required to power it – a resistance shaking up races from the local level to the highest national offices, a CNN analysis of campaign ads found.

More than $31 million has been spent on political ads mentioning data centers so far this year, spiking last month, when more than 8% of all campaign spending on broadcast TV went to data center or AI-related spots, according to tracking from the firm AdImpact. That’s up significantly from less than 1% of ads last year.

Those ads, which came from candidates and groups of both political parties, were united in their overwhelming criticism of data centers – more than 99% of the spending this year went to spots against AI infrastructure projects.

In Michigan, a congressional hopeful filmed an ad from a farm field he said was at risk of being replaced by “a massive data center that’ll jack up our energy bills and ruin our home values.”

In suburban Missouri, both leading GOP candidates for a county executive seat spent their entire TV ad budgets vowing to stop data centers and accusing each other of being beholden to developers.

And two different candidates in Wisconsin and California who happen to share a first name have both recently been mocked as “Data Center David” by their opponents.

“Data centers have picked up a unique bipartisan opposition in large part because they are so local as an issue,” said Daniel King, a research fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation. “Regardless of where party lines fall at the national level or on larger issues, both sides have been able to really pick up the spike.”

Facing that onslaught of negative political advertising, interest groups related to the AI industry have scrambled to pour millions into key races, federal election records show.

Yet those industry ads rarely discuss the AI industry or infrastructure. One major super PAC funded in part by an OpenAI executive bought millions in ads this year without mentioning AI or data centers in any of its broadcast spots, CNN’s review found.

In the lead-up to a bruising midterm battle for control of Congress, the data on ad spending points to a frantic rush by both parties to position themselves correctly on a critical jump-ball debate. Even major lawmakers who aren’t facing challenges are tacking toward more restrictive rules on data centers or even moratoriums on their construction.

“It isn’t intrinsically a right or left issue,” said Clifford Young, the chair of research firm Ipsos Public Affairs. “It’s a boogeyman for everyone. It plays into this underlying belief that the system is broken.”

As demand for the computer processing that powers artificial intelligence has skyrocketed, big tech companies are scrambling to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on new infrastructure – including on more than 2,000 data centers in planning stages, according to the tracking firm Cleanview.

Until recently, that construction boom was a political non-issue. In 2024, there wasn’t a single election ad on broadcast TV that mentioned data centers, according to AdImpact’s database, and in most of 2025, only a handful discussed them, largely in down-ballot state races.

Justin Merriman/Bloomberg/Getty Images

But over the last year, there’s been a tectonic shift in public sentiment, driven by skepticism about the industry and concerns over property rights, environmental impacts and especially spiking utility bills.

The data centers that run AI use powerful computing chips that are more energy-intensive than previous generations, which could lead to a 6% rise in electricity bills nationally over the next year, a Goldman Sachs analysis projected , with the biggest jumps for those living near data centers.

A Fox News poll in July found 70% of voters oppose building data centers in their area to support AI. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll from June, 59% of adults said they’d oppose a data center being built within 10 miles of their home. And a Pew Research survey released this month found “52% of Americans say they are more concerned than excited about the increased use of AI in daily life – up from 37% in 2021,” with a large majority expecting AI to decrease the number of jobs.

Politicians from both parties have taken note of that shift – and the issue has now moved to center stage in some of the most impactful races in this year’s midterms.

The front line might be a key race for US Senate in Ohio between Democrat Sherrod Brown and GOP Sen. Jon Husted.

In his previous role as lieutenant governor, Husted recruited the tech industry to Ohio – pre-AI boom, when the issue was relatively uncontroversial. In 2019, he hailed a new $600 million Google data center as “great news for our state.” Ohio is now home to more than 200 data centers, according to the Data Center Map tracking project, ranking sixth nationally.

That’s fueling Brown’s attacks, as outlined in a recent National Republican Senatorial Committee strategy memo obtained by CNN, which notes that “the new ingredient (and the new problem) is data centers.”

“Brown is using it because it works,” the memo notes. “More than any other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck.”

Since July, Brown’s campaign has put more than $3.5 million behind three separate TV spots hammering Husted on data centers, per AdImpact, running thousands of times. In the ads, Brown blames Husted as a “a chief reason Ohio has so many data centers,” and pledges to “require the data centers pay the full cost of their electricity, not you.”

“He’s been called the face of data centers in Ohio,” says one ad from Brown targeting Husted.

Brian Kaiser/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Daniel Lozada/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Husted has tried to recalibrate. Last month, he introduced the “Ratepayer Protection Act,” legislation aimed at limiting data centers’ impact on residential electric bills. In a statement, a campaign spokesperson said that Husted believes “data centers are, and should remain, a local decision,” and accused Brown of flip-flopping on the issue.

In the state’s competitive race for governor, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton have also strained to outdo each other with multi-point plans imposing strict regulations on tech companies and protections for residents.

In Wisconsin, with its own hotly contested gubernatorial race, data centers have also become a defining issue. Though it has far fewer data centers than Ohio, Wisconsin hosts several massive developments, including a 315-acre Microsoft campus in Mount Pleasant touted as “the world’s most powerful AI datacenter,” and plans for a sprawling 672-acre facility in Port Washington, backed by Oracle and OpenAI.

In a close Democratic primary, state Rep. Francesca Hong emphatically backed a data center moratorium, contrasting her stance with Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley’s more measured regulation pitch. “Unlike the other candidates, I’m not bought by corporations, so I’ll actually stop AI data centers,” Hong said in one of her ads .

Scott Olson/Getty Images

After Crowley prevailed, his Republican opponent, Rep. Tom Tiffany, picked up where Hong – a democratic socialist – left off. He’s hammered Crowley over data centers with a campaign ad nicknaming him “Data Center David Crowley,” featuring a clip of him touting Wisconsin’s potential to be “an AI and a data hub … for the entire globe.” Tiffany’s ad touts his support for eliminating state tax incentives for the industry.

Crowley has hit back by vowing to “hold data centers accountable and make them pay,” and criticizing Tiffany’s support for legislation that could have preempted states’ ability to regulate AI (language which was dropped from the final bill).

In a statement, Crowley said that “when I’m governor, I am going to aggressively protect Wisconsin citizens from the abuses of these big tech billionaires and their unregulated data centers.”

Data center resistance has powered other grassroots candidates nationally. Will Lawrence, a climate activist who unexpectedly won the Democratic nomination in Michigan’s toss-up 7th District, ran TV ads pledging to “stop AI data centers,” and credited that focus for his success.

Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary the same night as Lawrence, campaigning on extensive new standards for data centers. And earlier this month, El-Sayed’s GOP opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, said he now supports a one-year moratorium on building new data centers.

These advertising battles are also playing out on the most local levels, the AdImpact data shows.

In the GOP primary for county executive of St. Charles County, Missouri, earlier this year, 99% of campaign spending on broadcast TV mentioned data centers, with both leading candidates accusing their rival of supporting data center proposals. The county last month passed a six-month moratorium on large-scale data centers and one of its largest cities recently banned new developments.

“No one wants to live next to a giant behemoth,” said Kara Elms, a local resident who was among those protesting the data centers. “Both Democrats and Republicans can jump on that issue.”

AI companies and industry allies are also lining up to shift the political momentum before the midterms.

Tech giants like Meta, Google and Anthropic, a prominent venture capital firm, and top AI executives have donated more than $190 million to super PACs and nonprofits that have spent over $60 million on independent expenditures in the midterm elections so far.

Super PAC Leading The Future has taken in $50 million from the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, plus another $25 million from OpenAI president Greg Brockman and his wife, Anna. Through June, it’s reported spending nearly $45 million, often directed at candidates taking a hard line on AI and data center regulation, according to Federal Election Commission records.

In the crowded Democratic primary for New York’s 12th congressional district, the group and its proxies spent millions against state Assemblyman Alex Bores, who led a novel effort to regulate the industry in the state legislature. He lost the nomination to Assemblyman Micah Lasher.

Notably, Leading the Future’s ads have avoided AI or data centers. While two of its proxy groups, American Mission and Think Big, have spent a combined $8 million on broadcast TV ads in races around the country so far this year, none have mentioned AI or data centers, AdImpact’s tracking shows. Instead, they’ve touted candidates as a “proven fighter” or highlighted endorsements from President Donald Trump.

Similarly, California Leads, a group funded by Meta and Google, has spent more than $1.5 million on broadcast ads supporting moderate candidates in state legislative elections, but avoided mentioning tech, AI or data centers.

One industry heavyweight has taken a different approach. Public First Action, a nonprofit advocacy group backed by $40 million from Anthropic, says it supports robust AI regulations aimed at safety and responsible development, and has spent more than $10 million along with affiliated super PACs on ads this cycle.

Sarah Rice/Bloomberg/Getty Images

It has boosted lawmakers like Bores, and addressed AI policy head-on, such as one ad for Texas GOP Rep. Nathaniel Moran highlighting his bill to increase AI regulations. “No technology should be more powerful than the people it serves,” a voiceover declared.

Several other tech giants have been airing more general ads to encourage support for their data center projects outside of the fever pitch of election contests.

In 2025, Meta spent more than $6 million on broadcast ads promoting jobs created by its data centers in Iowa and New Mexico . More recently, Oracle aired similar ads , featuring young women in coffeeshops talking directly into the camera about new jobs and investments that come with the company’s new projects.

“It’s a data center, done right,” a spokeswoman declared in several of the ads.

Politicians already in office are urgently moving to avoid blame from voters alarmed by AI. Several prominent governors eyeing upcoming reelection have embraced calls for data center pauses and moratoriums – creating strange political bedfellows.

Both the Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, and the Democratic governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, have backed versions of a data center pause – particularly consequential in their large states with major economies.

Hochul signed a one-year moratorium on new large-scale data centers in July, the first of its kind in the nation, explaining at an event that the move would “give us some breathing room” amid perhaps “the most significant economic upheaval in history.”

Abbott, like Husted, was once a key industry ally – helping grow Texas into a national leader with 537 data centers, second only to Virginia, during his three terms as governor. Now, he favors pausing construction on new data centers pending an audit of their electricity and water usage. “Simply put, Texans must come first,” he said.

Shelby Tauber/Reuters

His pivot illustrates the changing incentives, even for traditionally business-friendly Republicans.

Potential presidential hopefuls like Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro are also shifting. In 2025, he welcomed a $20 billion investment from Amazon, remarking that his state was “all in on AI.” Now, this month, he announced an executive order restricting the development of data centers, eliminating fast-track approvals and expanding the review process – though he stopped short of an outright ban. Shapiro accused data center builders of “scaring our communities, being aggressive with township officials,” and “bullying our neighbors.”

Cementing his pivot, he launched an attack ad this month against GOP opponent Stacy Garrity, replaying clips of her saying that “we could be the leader in AI.”

Geopolitics is also driving the conversation. Defense hawks and other security-minded lawmakers focused on competition with China argue that limiting data center development could harm American progress and forfeit leadership in the critical sector. On the campaign trail in Michigan this month, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said that “a broad moratorium against data centers is kind of a dangerous prospect right now.”

And Trump, despite his penchant for populism, has taken a position as a data center advocate and AI accelerationist. “Many of them are designed in a very beautiful way,” the president commented earlier this month. “It’s really very positive.”

But with characteristic bluntness, he also noted, “I would say that maybe it could use a little public relations help.”

CNN 对竞选广告的分析发现，在全国范围内，各个政治派别的候选人都对人工智能及其所需基础设施日益增长的抵制情绪感到不满——这种抵制情绪正在撼动从地方到最高国家职位的竞选。

据广告公司AdImpact的追踪数据显示，今年迄今为止，提及数据中心的政治广告支出已超过3100万美元，其中上个月更是出现激增，超过8%的电视竞选广告支出流向了数据中心或人工智能相关广告。这一比例较去年同期的不到1%有了显著增长。

这些广告来自两党候选人和团体，它们一致强烈批评数据中心——今年超过 99% 的支出都用于反对人工智能基础设施项目的广告。

在密歇根州，一位国会候选人在一片农田里拍摄了一则广告，他说这片农田有可能被“一个大型数据中心”取代，这将“推高我们的能源账单，并毁掉我们的房屋价值”。

在密苏里州郊区，两位领先的共和党县行政长官候选人将全部电视广告预算都花在了阻止数据中心建设上，并互相指责对方受制于开发商。

威斯康星州和加利福尼亚州的两名候选人，恰巧同名，最近都被他们的对手嘲笑为“数据中心大卫”。

“数据中心问题之所以会遭到两党独特的反对，很大程度上是因为它本身就是一个地域性问题，”美国创新基金会的研究员丹尼尔·金表示。“无论两党在国家层面或更广泛的议题上立场如何，双方都能够真正把握住这一问题的激增。”

面对铺天盖地的负面政治广告，与人工智能行业相关的利益集团争先恐后地向关键竞选投入数百万美元，联邦选举记录显示。

然而，这些行业广告很少提及人工智能产业或基础设施。CNN的调查发现，一个由OpenAI高管部分资助的大型超级政治行动委员会今年购买了数百万美元的广告，但其所有电视广告中均未提及人工智能或数据中心。

在争夺国会控制权的激烈中期选举前夕，广告支出数据显示，两党都在争先恐后地试图在这一关键的摇摆议题上占据有利位置。即使是那些没有面临挑战的重要议员，也倾向于制定更严格的数据中心监管规定，甚至暂停数据中心的建设。

“这本质上并非左右之争，”市场研究公司益普索公共事务主席克利福德·杨表示，“它成了所有人的噩梦。它迎合了人们内心深处认为体制已经崩溃的信念。”

随着人工智能所需的计算机处理能力需求飙升，大型科技公司正争相斥资数千亿美元建设新的基础设施——据追踪公司 Cleanview 称，其中包括 2000 多个处于规划阶段的数据中心。

直到最近，这场建设热潮还算不上什么政治议题。根据AdImpact的数据库，2024年，电视广播上没有任何一则选举广告提及数据中心；而到了2025年的大部分时间里，也只有少数广告讨论过数据中心，而且大多是在州级选举中提及。

Justin Merriman/Bloomberg/Getty Images

但在过去一年里，公众情绪发生了巨大的转变，这主要是由于人们对该行业的怀疑，以及对产权、环境影响，尤其是不断上涨的公用事业账单的担忧。

高盛的一项分析预测，运行人工智能的数据中心使用比前几代更耗能的强大计算芯片，这可能导致未来一年全国电费上涨 6%，而居住在数据中心附近的人受到的影响最大。

福克斯新闻7月份的一项民调显示，70%的选民反对在他们所在地区建设数据中心以支持人工智能发展。路透社/益普索6月份的一项民调显示，59%的成年人表示反对在距离家10英里范围内建设数据中心。皮尤研究中心本月发布的一项调查发现，“52%的美国人表示，他们对人工智能在日常生活中日益广泛的应用感到担忧而非兴奋——这一比例高于2021年的37%”，绝大多数人预计人工智能将导致就业岗位减少。

两党政客都注意到了这种转变——这个问题现在已成为今年中期选举中一些最具影响力的竞选的核心议题。

前线可能是俄亥俄州民主党参议员谢罗德·布朗和共和党参议员乔恩·赫斯特之间的一场关键参议院选举。

在担任副州长期间，赫斯特德曾积极吸引科技产业落户俄亥俄州——当时人工智能尚未兴起，相关议题也相对不具争议。2019年，他盛赞谷歌斥资6亿美元新建的数据中心是“我们州的一大喜讯”。据数据中心地图追踪项目统计，俄亥俄州目前拥有超过200个数据中心，位居全美第六。

正如 CNN 获得的一份最近由全国共和党参议员委员会撰写的战略备忘录中所概述的那样，这助长了布朗的攻击，该备忘录指出，“新的因素（和新的问题是数据中心）”。

备忘录指出：“布朗之所以使用数据中心，是因为它有效。在这次竞选中，数据中心比任何其他因素都更能拖累哈斯特德。”

据 AdImpact 报道，自 7 月以来，布朗的竞选团队已投入超过 350 万美元，制作了三支电视广告，抨击哈斯特德在数据中心问题上的立场，这些广告播放了数千次。在广告中，布朗指责哈斯特德是“俄亥俄州拥有如此多数据中心的主要原因”，并承诺“要求数据中心承担全部电费，而不是让你们来付”。

“他被誉为俄亥俄州数据中心的代表人物，”布朗的一则针对赫斯特德的广告这样写道。

Brian Kaiser/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Daniel Lozada/Bloomberg/Getty Images

赫斯特德试图调整策略。上个月，他提出了“用户保护法案”，旨在限制数据中心对居民电费的影响。赫斯特德竞选团队发言人在一份声明中表示，赫斯特德认为“数据中心现在是，而且应该仍然是地方政府的决策”，并指责布朗在这个问题上反复无常。

在竞争激烈的州长竞选中，共和党人维韦克·拉马斯瓦米和民主党人艾米·阿克顿也竭力超越对方，提出了多项计划，对科技公司实施严格监管，并保护居民。

在竞争激烈的州长选举中，数据中心也成为了一个关键议题。尽管威斯康星州的数据中心数量远少于俄亥俄州，但它却拥有几个大型开发项目，包括位于芒特普莱森特占地315英亩的微软园区，该园区被誉为“全球最强大的人工智能数据中心”；以及由甲骨文和OpenAI支持的、计划在华盛顿港建造的占地672英亩的庞大设施。

在竞争激烈的民主党初选中，州众议员弗朗西斯卡·洪(Francesca Hong)明确支持暂停数据中心建设，这与密尔沃基县行政长官戴维·克劳利(David Crowley)更为谨慎的监管主张形成鲜明对比。洪在她的竞选广告中说道：“与其他候选人不同，我没有被企业收买，所以我真的会阻止人工智能数据中心的建设。”

Scott Olson/Getty Images

克劳利胜选后，他的共和党对手、众议员汤姆·蒂芙尼接过了洪（一位民主社会主义者）的接力棒。蒂芙尼在竞选广告中猛烈抨击克劳利的数据中心政策，称他为“数据中心大卫·克劳利”，广告中还播放了一段克劳利吹嘘威斯康星州有潜力成为“全球人工智能和数据中心”的视频片段。蒂芙尼的广告则强调他支持取消该行业的州税收优惠。

克劳利予以反击，誓言要“追究数据中心的责任并让他们付出代价”，并批评蒂芙尼支持一项可能剥夺各州监管人工智能能力的立法（该条款已从最终法案中删除）。

克劳利在一份声明中表示，“当我当选州长时，我将积极保护威斯康星州公民免受这些大型科技亿万富翁及其不受监管的数据中心的侵害。”

对数据中心的抵制也为其他草根候选人在全国范围内的发展注入了动力。气候活动家威尔·劳伦斯出人意料地赢得了密歇根州第七选区民主党提名，该选区选情胶着。劳伦斯曾投放电视广告，承诺“阻止人工智能数据中心”，并将自己的成功归功于这一重点。

阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德与劳伦斯在同一晚赢得了密歇根州民主党参议员初选，他的竞选纲领是制定一系列全新的数据中心标准。本月初，埃尔-赛义德的共和党对手、前众议员迈克·罗杰斯表示，他现在支持暂停新建数据中心一年。

AdImpact 的数据显示，这些广告大战也在最本地化的层面上演。

今年早些时候，在密苏里州圣查尔斯县共和党县长初选中，​​99%的竞选支出都集中在电视广告上，两位领先的候选人都指责对方支持数据中心项目。上个月，该县通过了一项为期六个月的大型数据中心建设禁令，而该县最大的城市之一最近也禁止了新的数据中心开发项目。

“没人愿意住在庞然大物旁边，”当地居民卡拉·埃尔姆斯说道，她也是抗议数据中心的人群之一。“民主党和共和党都可以拿这个问题大做文章。”

人工智能公司及其行业盟友也正积极布局，力图在中期选举前扭转政治局势。

像 Meta、谷歌和 Anthropic 这样的科技巨头，以及著名的风险投资公司和人工智能领域的顶尖高管，已经向超级政治行动委员会和非营利组织捐赠了超过 1.9 亿美元，这些组织迄今为止已在中期选举的独立支出中花费了超过 6000 万美元。

超级政治行动委员会“引领未来”（Leading The Future）已从硅谷风险投资公司安德森·霍洛维茨基金（Andreessen Horowitz）获得5000万美元捐款，此外，OpenAI总裁格雷格·布罗克曼（Greg Brockman）及其妻子安娜（Anna）也捐赠了2500万美元。据联邦选举委员会记录显示，截至6月，该委员会已支出近4500万美元，这些资金通常用于支持那些在人工智能和数据中心监管方面持强硬立场的候选人。

在纽约州第12选区竞争激烈的民主党初选中，该组织及其代理人花费数百万美元攻击州议员亚历克斯·博雷斯，博雷斯曾牵头在州议会发起一项旨在监管该行业的创新举措。最终，他败给了州议员迈卡·拉舍尔，未能获得提名。

值得注意的是，“引领未来”（Leading the Future）的广告一直避开人工智能或数据中心相关内容。AdImpact的追踪数据显示，尽管其旗下的两个代理组织——“美国使命”（American Mission）和“放眼未来”（Think Big）——今年迄今已在全国各地的竞选活动中投入了总计800万美元的电视广告费，但这些广告均未提及人工智能或数据中心。相反，这些广告将候选人吹捧为“久经沙场的斗士”，或着重强调了唐纳德·特朗普总统的背书。

同样，由 Meta 和 Google 资助的组织 California Leads 已花费超过 150 万美元用于广播广告，支持州立法选举中的温和派候选人，但却避免提及科技、人工智能或数据中心。

一家行业巨头采取了不同的策略。由人道协会（Anthropic）出资4000万美元支持的非营利倡导组织“公共优先行动”（Public First Action）表示，它支持旨在保障安全和负责任开发的强有力的AI监管，并在本轮选举周期中，连同其附属的超级政治行动委员会（Super PACs）一起，在广告上花费了超过1000万美元。

Sarah Rice/Bloomberg/Getty Images

它提振了像博雷斯这样的立法者，并正面探讨了人工智能政策，例如，德克萨斯州共和党众议员纳撒尼尔·莫兰的一则广告就重点宣传了他提出的加强人工智能监管的法案。“任何技术都不应该凌驾于它所服务的人民​​之上，”旁白如此说道。

其他几家科技巨头也一直在投放更通用的广告，以鼓励人们在选举竞争白热化之外支持他们的数据中心项目。

2025年，Meta公司花费超过600万美元用于电视广告，宣传其位于爱荷华州和新墨西哥州的数据中心创造的就业机会。最近，甲骨文公司也投放了类似的广告，广告中年轻女性在咖啡馆里对着镜头直接介绍公司新项目带来的就业机会和投资。

“这是一个真正意义上的数据中心，”一位女发言人在几则广告中宣称。

现任政客们正紧急采取行动，以避免因人工智能引发的选民恐慌而受到指责。几位即将面临连任的知名州长响应了暂停或中止数据中心建设的呼吁——这造就了一些令人意想不到的政治联盟。

德克萨斯州共和党州长格雷格·阿博特和纽约州民主党州长凯西·霍楚尔都支持暂停数据中心运营——这对他们各自经济规模庞大的州来说意义尤其重大。

7 月，Hochul 签署了一项为期一年的新建大型数据中心禁令，这是韩国首例此类禁令。他在一次活动中解释说，此举将在“历史上最重大的经济动荡”中“给我们一些喘息的空间”。

和赫斯特德一样，阿博特也曾是数据中心行业的重要盟友——在他担任州长的三个任期内，德克萨斯州凭借537个数据中心，成为仅次于弗吉尼亚州的全国领先者。如今，他却支持暂停新建数据中心，等待对其用电量和用水量进行审计。“简而言之，德州人民的利益必须放在首位，”他说。

谢尔比·陶伯/路透社

他的转变表明，即使对于传统上亲商的共和党人来说，激励机制也在发生变化。

像宾夕法尼亚州民主党州长乔什·夏皮罗这样的潜在总统候选人也在转变立场。2025年，他曾对亚马逊200亿美元的投资表示欢迎，并声称宾夕法尼亚州“全力投入人工智能”。而就在本月，他宣布了一项行政命令，限制数据中心的开发，取消快速审批通道，并扩大审查范围——尽管他并未彻底禁止数据中心建设。夏皮罗指责数据中心建设者“恐吓我们的社区，对乡镇官员咄咄逼人”，并且“欺凌我们的邻居”。

为了巩固他的立场转变，他本月发起了一场针对共和党对手斯泰西·加里蒂的攻击性广告，重播了她所说的“我们可能是人工智能领域的领导者”的片段。

地缘政治也是推动这场讨论的因素之一。关注与中国竞争的国防鹰派和其他安全导向型议员认为，限制数据中心发展可能会损害美国的发展，并使其丧失在这一关键领域的领先地位。本月在密歇根州的竞选活动中，共和党众议院议长迈克·约翰逊表示，“目前全面暂停数据中心建设是一个相当危险的前景。”

尽管特朗普一向热衷于民粹主义，但他却公开支持数据中心建设和人工智能加速发展。“它们中的许多设计都非常精美，”总统本月早些时候评论道，“这真的很有积极意义。”

但他以一贯的直率指出：“我认为它或许需要一些公关方面的帮助。”