Data center backlash is uniting America

<figure> <img alt="Election signs with binary and glitch effects." data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/268813_ELECTIONS_DATA_CENTERS_CVirginia.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="has-drop-cap wp-block-paragraph">If there's one issue that seems to activate all kinds of voters in 2026, it's data centers. The rapid buildout of these massive server storage facilities - and the infrastructure construction and expenses that come with them - has sparked local opposition in communities across the country and become a major issue in many congressional and gubernatorial campaigns.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">At the same time, tech money has been pouring into many of these races. Leading the Future, a super PAC backed by venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, has already spent $45 million in a year. And Public First Action, an <a href="https://www.anthropic.com/news/donation-public-first-action">Anthropic-backed group</a> that …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/policy/1019152/data-centers-midterm-elections">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>