Data centres were a key issue for many US midterm voters, poll suggests
An AP poll found 56% of surveyed voters called data centres a crucial or major factor in their vote, but BBC Verify says how many seats the backlash decided is unclear.
At a glance
- A poll for AP and news organisations found 56% of surveyed US midterm voters called data centres a crucial or major factor in their vote.
- 76% of those surveyed said they would oppose a new data centre being built in their community, with hostility strongest among Democrat voters.
- Texas, Georgia and Ohio elected Democrats who sought tighter data centre regulation, but BBC Verify says the direct seat impact is unclear.
A voter poll from the US midterm elections suggests data centres were a motivating issue for many Americans, prompting debate over whether public opposition to the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure boom helped shape the outcome. BBC Verify has examined the issue's role in the campaign and what it could mean for the AI industry.
What the polling shows
The poll, carried out for the Associated Press and a consortium of news organisations, found 56% of surveyed voters said data centres were a "crucial or major" factor in their vote, while 76% said they would oppose the construction of a new data centre in their community. The hostile sentiment was considerably stronger among those who said they voted Democrat.
Separate Pew Research polling suggested about half of Americans think data centres are "mostly bad" for the environment, home energy costs and quality of life — a marked deterioration in favourability since January.
Even so, the issue ranked well behind others. Government corruption (90%) and the cost of living (89%) were named as crucial or major factors by more voters.
Can the backlash be tied to results?
BBC Verify's analysis of state-level voter polling for Senate elections found that states which swung to the Democrats either followed the national trend on data centre concerns or appeared less concerned. It is therefore not possible to say how many votes or Senate seats were directly delivered by opposition to data centres.
Still, in three key states for the US AI build-out — Texas, Georgia and Ohio — Democrats who called for tighter regulation of data centres in some form were elected as senators and governors. Proposed measures include requirements for data centres to cover their own energy and water infrastructure costs, mandates to use unionised construction workers, and stricter environmental and transparency safeguards.
A fast-growing industry weighs the risks
The US economy has been heavily supported in recent years by massive corporate investment in AI, including data centre construction. Official data shows inflation-adjusted monthly spending on building data centres, excluding the IT hardware that goes into them, was $5bn (£4.2bn) in August 2026 — five times higher than in 2023. Analysis by Columbia Business School suggests AI infrastructure investment in the US is currently larger as a share of the overall economy than spending on new railways was at the height of that 19th Century boom.
Cori Crider, executive director of the European think tank the Future of Tech Institute, told BBC Verify the industry should anticipate that new state leaders will put conditions on, or "even stop runaway data centre build". Seema Shah, from the global investment firm Principal Asset Management, said requirements for developers to pay for additional electricity grid investment, meet tougher standards on resource use such as water, or give up tax incentives could "raise development costs and slow new supply".
Heather West, from the Eurasia Group consultancy, said temporary construction bans and new regulations might delay the roll-out but would not stop it entirely. She said "projects already permitted or under construction will largely proceed", while delays would affect the "next wave" of building through "local fights, slower permitting, and pressure to make data centres pay for their own power".
Analysts at the consultancy Oxford Economics have pointed to strong economic incentives for politicians to avoid policies that would severely disrupt data centre construction, citing tax revenue and construction jobs. Deepak Surana of the technology research firm the Futurum Group said he expected there would ultimately be "a negotiation, not a moratorium" from Texas state leaders on data centres, to ensure no negative impact on residents' energy and water bills. OpenAI, which has a data centre in Texas and under-construction projects in Ohio, pledged on Thursday to ensure it fully paid for its own electricity — one day after the midterm results.
Source: BBC World.
Questions and answers
- Did data centre opposition decide the US midterm elections?
- BBC Verify says it cannot say how many votes or Senate seats were directly delivered by data centre opposition, because states that swung to the Democrats either followed the national trend or seemed less concerned.
- What share of US voters cared about data centres?
- In an AP poll, 56% of surveyed voters said data centres were a "crucial or major" factor in their vote, and 76% said they would oppose a new data centre in their community.
- How is the data centre boom affecting the US economy?
- Inflation-adjusted monthly spending on building data centres was $5bn in August 2026, five times the 2023 level, and Columbia Business School analysis says AI infrastructure investment now outweighs 19th Century railway spending as a share of the economy.
