A new analysis from a conservative AI safety group found that deep-red counties with large data centers or proposed projects shifted further toward Democrats in last week's midterm elections than comparable counties without such projects.
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counties → find → projects
Humans First’s analysis, obtained by Fox News Digital, examined public election returns and data-center project records in 1,540 counties across 16 states.
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analysis → obtain → states
The memo used several comparisons to measure what the group describes as a "data center penalty."
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group → use → penalty
Across all counties examined, those hosting large data centers shifted an additional 2.2 percentage points toward Democrats compared with non-host counties in the same states.
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those → examine → states
The pattern appeared in 14 of the 16 states and 25 of the 27 governor and Senate races examined.
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pattern → appear → races
Restricting the analysis to deep-red counties — those President Donald Trump won by at least 20 points in 2024 — produced a 2.1-point raw gap between counties hosting large data centers and comparable counties without projects.
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Trump → restrict → projects
Among deep-red counties with projects still in the proposal stage, the gap was 1.1 percentage points after accounting for past voting patterns, rural or urban status, population size, racial and ethnic makeup and recent voting trends.
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gap → account → patterns
The group identified 114 proposed large data center projects across 92 deep-red counties, potentially setting up more local fights.
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group → identify → fights
The memo found that Republican vote totals fell an additional 1.1% in deep-red host counties compared with comparable counties without large data centers, while Democratic vote totals showed no significant change.
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totals → find → change
The memo cautioned that its findings show an association rather than proof that data centers caused voters to change their behavior.
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voters → caution → behavior
County-level results also cannot determine whether Republicans switched their votes or simply stayed home.
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Republicans → determine → votes
"Our analysis looked at how counties with data centers voted and how those counties moved to the left," Humans First Chairwoman Amy Kremer told Fox News Digital.
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Kremer → look → Digital
"I think this happened for the reason I’ve been warning conservatives and Republicans about for some time: People engage politically when issues affect them personally.
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issues → think → them
A data center involves all of those things, which is why I believe these counties moved away from Republicans," she continued.
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she → involve → Republicans
Humans First’s September "Data Center Revolt" bus tour made 35 stops in 27 states, including 14 stops in the states covered by the analysis.
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tour → make → analysis
Nine of those stops were in deep-red counties, all of which hosted a large data center project.
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all → host → project
Those nine counties shifted 2.2 points further toward Democrats after the analysis accounted for its controls, compared with a 0.75-point shift among deep-red host counties overall.
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counties → shift → counties
The group said those same nine counties showed no comparable gap from 2020 to 2024.
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counties → say → 2024
The findings do not establish whether the group's visits influenced voting behavior or whether those counties already had stronger opposition to data center development.
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counties → establish → development
Separately, voters favored restrictions on data center development or rejected measures supporting such projects in 46 of 47 local data center ballot measures in 2026, according to Ballotpedia.
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voters → favor → Ballotpedia
The measures included different types of proposals, including restrictions on development and advisory questions.
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measures → include → development
Kremer said this is a local control issue, stressing that Republicans should focus on protecting property rights and ensuring people have control over how things affect their lives.
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things → say → lives
"Whether you’re talking about AI technology or the infrastructure needed to build AI data centers, the American people have not had a seat at the table," Kremer said.
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Kremer → talk → table
"They haven’t had a say in how the technology affects them or how the data center buildout affects their communities.
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buildout → have → communities
In many places across the country, developers and companies have gone in and cut deals behind closed doors, under a cloak of darkness, using nondisclosure agreements and shell companies.
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developers → go → agreements
By the time people in the community find out about the project, it’s too late to stop it.
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it → find → it
"
"These projects affect the quality of life and how much money people have.
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people → affect → money
They can increase the cost of electricity and water, while tax abatements are given to trillion-dollar companies — some of the wealthiest companies in the world.
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abatements → increase → world
That is money coming out of the pockets of the American people," she continued.
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she → come → people
Kremer added, "When you talk about Iran and gas prices, tariffs and now the AI data center buildout, all of these costs are coming out of people’s pockets.
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all → add → pockets
That’s when people engage politically, and I think that’s what we saw last Tuesday."
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we → ’ → what
The concerns come amid a broader debate over how data centers should pay for the electricity and grid infrastructure they require.
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they → come → infrastructure
The Energy Department estimates data centers used 4.7% of U.S. electricity in 2024 and, in its reference case, could account for 11.8% by 2030.
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centers → estimate → 2030
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has directed regional grid operators to address safeguards against shifting the costs of serving large electricity users onto other customers.
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Commission → direct → customers
Those developments do not establish that data centers caused higher household rates in the counties examined by Humans First.
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centers → establish → First
Tax incentives also vary by state.
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incentives → vary → state
The National Conference of State Legislatures reported that at least 38 states offer incentives specifically for data centers, including equipment-tax exemptions and, in some states, exemptions involving electricity or property taxes.
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states → report → taxes
The Data Center Coalition, an industry trade group, says such incentives are similar to those offered to other capital-intensive industries and argues that data centers generate jobs, investment and tax revenue.
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centers → say → jobs
Humans First does not support a nationwide or statewide moratorium on data centers, but Kremer said individual communities should be free to approve or reject projects.
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communities → support → projects
"If a community comes together and votes for a moratorium, that is its prerogative.
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that → come → moratorium
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
