Voters know what the next big issue is. They don’t know how they feel about it.
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Data centers are quickly becoming the next big political issue. And neither party has figured out how to run on them.
Major political figures on both sides have struggled to figure out their positions, and in-depth results from The POLITICO Poll help explain why: Americans don’t know much about data centers, they don’t really know how to feel about them and they’re not yet sure where the political battle lines lie.
But they do know they matter. A bipartisan majority of Americans said they expect data centers to become a campaign issue in their area eventually, the poll found, with nearly half saying it would become one within the next five years.
“If you had asked me about data centers five months ago, I would have said: ‘What’s a data center?’” Republican Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said in an interview. “Now it’s everywhere. So that’s a short amount of time to fully formulate what you think about it.”
The survey reveals the early contours of an evolving political battle — and the opportunity and risk for politicians hoping to seize on the nascent power of an issue that touches on AI and tech, infrastructure and development, environmental resources, jobs and energy costs.
Republicans appear to have an early edge on the issue, though public opinion is so largely unformed that it’s unclear how that may change.
Pluralities — but not majorities — of voters in both parties said they support the construction of data centers, with Americans who say they plan to vote for the GOP in November about 8 points more likely than Democratic voters, according to the survey conducted by independent London-based firm Public First.
Republicans’ appetite for data centers may be driven in part by President Donald Trump, who has been bullish on artificial intelligence and data center expansion and who has been combative against both blue and red states aiming to restrict that growth. He wrote on social media last month that “Data Centers are key” to ensuring that the U.S. dominates on AI.
His position is most clearly reflected among his strongest supporters. Asked at the start of the poll for their position, before additional information had been provided, a 55 percent majority of voters who both backed Trump in 2024 and self-identified as “MAGA Republicans” said they support a new data center being built in their local area.
Support was markedly lower among Trump voters who did not consider themselves MAGA Republicans, at 38 percent, and Kamala Harris voters, at 36 percent.
Democrats expressed worry about the water supply and electricity bills — concerns that have already emerged in recent elections.
With public opinion on data centers still fluid, candidates are beginning to experiment with whether — and how — to embrace data centers as a campaign issue. …
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Data centers are quickly becoming the next big political issue. And neither party has figured out how to run on them.
Major political figures on both sides have struggled to figure out their positions, and in-depth results from The POLITICO Poll help explain why: Americans don’t know much about data centers, they don’t really know how to feel about them and they’re not yet sure where the political battle lines lie.
But they do know they matter. A bipartisan majority of Americans said they expect data centers to become a campaign issue in their area eventually, the poll found, with nearly half saying it would become one within the next five years.
“If you had asked me about data centers five months ago, I would have said: ‘What’s a data center?’” Republican Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said in an interview. “Now it’s everywhere. So that’s a short amount of time to fully formulate what you think about it.”
The survey reveals the early contours of an evolving political battle — and the opportunity and risk for politicians hoping to seize on the nascent power of an issue that touches on AI and tech, infrastructure and development, environmental resources, jobs and energy costs.
Republicans appear to have an early edge on the issue, though public opinion is so largely unformed that it’s unclear how that may change.
Pluralities — but not majorities — of voters in both parties said they support the construction of data centers, with Americans who say they plan to vote for the GOP in November about 8 points more likely than Democratic voters, according to the survey conducted by independent London-based firm Public First.
Republicans’ appetite for data centers may be driven in part by President Donald Trump, who has been bullish on artificial intelligence and data center expansion and who has been combative against both blue and red states aiming to restrict that growth. He wrote on social media last month that “Data Centers are key” to ensuring that the U.S. dominates on AI.
His position is most clearly reflected among his strongest supporters. Asked at the start of the poll for their position, before additional information had been provided, a 55 percent majority of voters who both backed Trump in 2024 and self-identified as “MAGA Republicans” said they support a new data center being built in their local area.
Support was markedly lower among Trump voters who did not consider themselves MAGA Republicans, at 38 percent, and Kamala Harris voters, at 36 percent.
Democrats expressed worry about the water supply and electricity bills — concerns that have already emerged in recent elections.
With public opinion on data centers still fluid, candidates are beginning to experiment with whether — and how — to embrace data centers as a campaign issue. …
Voters know what the next big issue is. They don’t know how they feel about it.
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
Data centers are quickly becoming the next big political issue. And neither party has figured out how to run on them.
Major political figures on both sides have struggled to figure out their positions, and in-depth results from The POLITICO Poll help explain why: Americans don’t know much about data centers, they don’t really know how to feel about them and they’re not yet sure where the political battle lines lie.
But they do know they matter. A bipartisan majority of Americans said they expect data centers to become a campaign issue in their area eventually, the poll found, with nearly half saying it would become one within the next five years.
“If you had asked me about data centers five months ago, I would have said: ‘What’s a data center?’” Republican Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said in an interview. “Now it’s everywhere. So that’s a short amount of time to fully formulate what you think about it.”
The survey reveals the early contours of an evolving political battle — and the opportunity and risk for politicians hoping to seize on the nascent power of an issue that touches on AI and tech, infrastructure and development, environmental resources, jobs and energy costs.
Republicans appear to have an early edge on the issue, though public opinion is so largely unformed that it’s unclear how that may change.
Pluralities — but not majorities — of voters in both parties said they support the construction of data centers, with Americans who say they plan to vote for the GOP in November about 8 points more likely than Democratic voters, according to the survey conducted by independent London-based firm Public First.
Republicans’ appetite for data centers may be driven in part by President Donald Trump, who has been bullish on artificial intelligence and data center expansion and who has been combative against both blue and red states aiming to restrict that growth. He wrote on social media last month that “Data Centers are key” to ensuring that the U.S. dominates on AI.
His position is most clearly reflected among his strongest supporters. Asked at the start of the poll for their position, before additional information had been provided, a 55 percent majority of voters who both backed Trump in 2024 and self-identified as “MAGA Republicans” said they support a new data center being built in their local area.
Support was markedly lower among Trump voters who did not consider themselves MAGA Republicans, at 38 percent, and Kamala Harris voters, at 36 percent.
Democrats expressed worry about the water supply and electricity bills — concerns that have already emerged in recent elections.
With public opinion on data centers still fluid, candidates are beginning to experiment with whether — and how — to embrace data centers as a campaign issue. …
