Politicians Suddenly Notice Everybody Hates Data Centers

Voter backlash against AI data centers has reached a political tipping point, forcing politicians across both parties to reverse course on previously supportive positions. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott halted up to 1,800 data center projects this month after previously offering tax breaks to attract them, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro followed with new regulatory barriers. The National Republican Senatorial Committee warned in a memo that data center opposition is the central issue threatening Republican Sen. Jon Husted's Ohio Senate seat, with Sherrod Brown's opposition polling as his strongest attack. The article argues that while legitimate concerns about AI exist, local opposition to data centers is largely overblown, and the policy debate has collapsed into NIMBY politics rather than substantive regulation of the technology. A separate item reports that Michigan's Green Party may have nominated a Republican plant for a competitive congressional seat after a 33-minute Zoom appearance in April, with the candidate remaining unreachable since.