As Trump pushes for data centers, voters in key midterm races say they don’t want them
A growing bipartisan coalition of voters and local officials is opposing the construction of AI data centers, citing concerns over resource usage like water. This grassroots movement stands in direct opposition to President Trump's push for data center expansion.
Why it matters
Demonstrates a rare point of alignment between populist Republicans and progressive Democrats regarding infrastructure and environmental impact.
DES MOINES, Iowa — Dawn Vogel, a Republican county supervisor in rural Buchanan County, Iowa, doesn’t have a lot in common with the leading democratic socialists in Congress. But on this bit of policy they agree: Data centers are proliferating across the American landscape too fast. Vogel voted earlier this year for a moratorium that temporarily bans data centers from setting up shop in her heavily Republican county, which favored President Donald Trump 63% to 35% in 2024. In Washington, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. — the nation’s two most prominent democratic socialists — have proposed a similar moratorium that would cover the entire country.
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