Why data centers are a top issue in the 2026 midterms
Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown is running an ad calling the incumbent Sen.
俄亥俄州民主党参议院候选人谢罗德·布朗正在投放一则广告，呼吁现任参议员谢罗德·布朗。
Jon Husted (R-Ohio) the “ face of data centers.
Jon Husted（俄亥俄州共和党人）是“数据中心的代表”。
” As the state’s former lieutenant governor, Husted supported tax breaks for data centers and called them a tremendous economic opportunity for Ohioans.
作为该州前副州长，赫斯特德支持数据中心税收减免，并称其为俄亥俄州人带来了巨大的经济机会。
He encouraged towns to build them and advance Ohio as a business-friendly area.
他鼓励各城镇建设这些设施，并将俄亥俄州发展成为一个商业友好地区。
The focus on data centers, in one of this year’s most competitive Senate races, demonstrates dramatic shifts in public opinion and the high stakes going into the midterm elections.
在今年竞争最激烈的参议院竞选之一中，对数据中心的关注表明公众舆论的巨大转变以及中期选举的高风险。
The public has gone from a cautiously optimistic view of data centers to outright opposition, and this rising negativity poses challenges for technology firms, the digital economy, and policy discussions concerning the future of data center moratoriums and business investments.
公众对数据中心的看法已经从谨慎乐观转变为彻底反对，这种不断上升的负面情绪给科技公司、数字经济以及有关数据中心暂停和商业投资未来的政策讨论带来了挑战。
It is thus a political transformation that warrants close scrutiny by candidates, tech leaders, and election observers.
因此，这是一场政治变革，值得候选人、科技领袖和选举观察员密切关注。
A September 2025 Heatmap poll showed the public evenly split in its views about data centers.
2025 年 9 月的热图民意调查显示，公众对数据中心的看法各不相同。
Forty-four percent supported their construction, while 42% opposed them.
44% 的人支持他们的建设，42% 的人反对。
A number saw them as a vital tool for economic development even as others worried about their overall impact.
一些人认为它们是经济发展的重要工具，尽管其他人则担心它们的总体影响。
This year, 64% of respondents to a Reuters/Ipsos survey said they do not think it is a “good thing to build data centers at a rapid rate.” Seventy-seven percent say they worry data centers will increase their electricity rates, and in classic NIMBY—or “not in my backyard”—fashion, only 14% say they would be willing to live close to a data center.
今年，路透社/益普索 (Reuters/Ipsos) 的一项调查显示，64% 的受访者表示，他们认为“快速建设数据中心并不是一件好事”。 77% 的人表示他们担心数据中心的电费会上涨，而在经典的“邻避”（NIMBY）时尚中，只有 14% 的人表示他们愿意住在数据中心附近。
These concerns largely cut across both parties.
这些担忧在很大程度上涉及双方。
People living in rural areas don’t want to live next to industrial parks, and those residing in congested urban environments complain about noise levels and environmental degradation.
生活在农村地区的人们不想住在工业园区旁边，而居住在拥挤的城市环境中的人们则抱怨噪音水平和环境恶化。
This dramatic shift helps to explain why candidates in both parties are running ads against data centers and framing their opponents as indifferent to community concerns.
这一戏剧性的转变有助于解释为什么两党候选人都在针对数据中心投放广告，并指责他们的对手对社区问题漠不关心。
In the Texas gubernatorial race, Democrat Gina Hinojosa asserted that sitting Republican Gov.
在德克萨斯州州长竞选中，民主党人吉娜·伊诺霍萨声称，现任共和党州长。
Greg Abbott is too sympathetic to data centers, and that there needs to be a better balance between tech development and community concerns.
Greg Abbott 对数据中心过于同情，认为技术发展和社区关注之间需要更好的平衡。
Seeking to stem the political damage, Abbott recently endorsed an “ audit ” of data center development while the state studies their impact.
为了阻止政治损害，雅培最近支持对数据中心的发展进行“审计”，同时州政府研究其影响。
In Pennsylvania, Gov.
在宾夕法尼亚州，州长。
Josh Shapiro shifted his stance from one generally supporting data centers to placing restrictions on them after his Republican opponent criticized him for being too favorable to tech firms.
在共和党对手批评他对科技公司过于有利之后，乔什·夏皮罗 (Josh Shapiro) 的立场从普遍支持数据中心转变为对数据中心施加限制。
He recently signed an executive order imposing new rules on the authorization of data centers and placing additional guardrails on their development.
他最近签署了一项行政命令，对数据中心的授权实施新规则，并为其发展设置额外的护栏。
A recent study by the Washington Post showed a dramatic change in how candidates speak about data centers.
《华盛顿邮报》最近的一项研究显示，候选人谈论数据中心的方式发生了巨大变化。
Analyzing online posts from 2024 to 2026 revealed that political aspirants have gone from mostly positive to significantly negative comments about these facilities.
对 2024 年至 2026 年在线帖子的分析显示，政治抱负者对这些设施的评论已从大多正面评论变为显着负面评论。
Republicans were more negative than Democrats but each of them shifted in a negative direction.
共和党人比民主党人更加消极，但他们都转向了消极的方向。
They complained about electricity costs, land use, water consumption, and a lack of jobs, among other topics.
他们抱怨电费、土地使用、水消耗和就业机会不足等问题。
But data center concerns also link more generally to fears about artificial intelligence (AI) taking jobs , the lack of human agency over technology transformation, and people getting left behind.
但数据中心的担忧也更普遍地与对人工智能 (AI) 抢走工作、技术转型方面缺乏人力以及人们被抛在后面的担忧联系在一起。
AI has become an existential threat for many individuals, and data centers have become the means for people to express their worries about overall AI development.
人工智能已经成为许多人的生存威胁，数据中心也成为人们表达对人工智能整体发展担忧的手段。
It is hard to fight AI rollouts, which are largely controlled by tech firms, but easy to gin up community opposition to data centers because they require local permits and environmental safeguards.
人工智能的推广很难阻止，因为人工智能主要由科技公司控制，但很容易激起社区对数据中心的反对，因为它们需要当地许可和环境保护。
The fact that AI development is pushed by tech billionaires creates another political problem for data centers.
事实上，人工智能的发展是由科技亿万富翁推动的，这给数据中心带来了另一个政治问题。
With income inequality at record levels, billionaires maintaining close relationships with political leaders, and tech firms paying relatively low tax rates , a “ techlash ” is building that poses substantial risks both for AI and data centers.
由于收入不平等达到创纪录水平，亿万富翁与政治领导人保持密切关系，科技公司缴纳相对较低的税率，“科技抵制”正在形成，这给人工智能和数据中心带来了巨大风险。
This backlash reflects not just a communications problem on the part of tech companies, but meaningful public worries about deeply rooted deficiencies afflicting the U.S. economy.
这种强烈反对不仅反映出科技公司的沟通问题，还反映出公众对困扰美国经济的根深蒂固的缺陷的担忧。
In a number of respects, data centers have become a convenient proxy for major debates regarding the future.
在许多方面，数据中心已经成为有关未来的重大辩论的便捷代表。
The way data center concerns play out in the 2026 midterms could have dramatic consequences for the longer-term policy landscape.
数据中心问题在 2026 年中期选举中的表现可能会对长期政策格局产生巨大影响。
If several of the high-profile backers of data centers lose and their opponents win, it could encourage politicians to embrace more data center moratoriums, pauses, and audits.
如果数据中心的几个知名支持者失败而他们的对手获胜，则可能会鼓励政治家接受更多的数据中心暂停、暂停和审计。
This already happened in New York and in many local communities across the country, and an acceleration of that movement would slow future development and pose serious problems for AI growth and the overall digital economy.
这种情况已经在纽约和全国许多地方社区发生，而这一运动的加速将减缓未来的发展，并对人工智能的增长和整体数字经济造成严重问题。
More ominously, a slowdown in the data center buildout could dramatically affect the business models currently embraced by tech firms.
更糟糕的是，数据中心建设的放缓可能会极大地影响科技公司目前采用的商业模式。
All the large companies have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in AI development and assume certain rates of return on investment.
所有大公司都在人工智能开发上投入了数千亿美元，并承担了一定的投资回报率。
They project rapid growth rates in consumer and corporate adoption and favorable revenue estimates based on these patterns.
他们预计消费者和企业采用率将快速增长，并根据这些模式预测有利的收入。
Any pause, audit, or moratorium that slows AI adoption could challenge widely shared business expectations and creates financial difficulties not only for specific firms, but the overall economy.
任何减缓人工智能采用的暂停、审计或暂停都可能挑战广泛认同的商业预期，不仅给特定公司甚至整个经济带来财务困难。
Since so much of recent stock market gains depend on the valuations of a few large tech firms, the dramatic recent changes in public opinion could have momentous ramifications for everyone.
由于近期股市涨幅在很大程度上取决于几家大型科技公司的估值，因此近期公众舆论的巨大变化可能会对每个人产生重大影响。