New York enacts one-year moratorium on new data centers
Democratic party leaders in battleground states are championing massive AI data center investments, but the issue is emerging as a political liability ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. A recent Ipsos national poll found that Democratic voters “strongly/somewhat oppose” data centers by a margin of 17 percentage points compared to their Republican counterparts. Only 9% of Democrats polled said they supported a data center in their own community, compared with 21% of Republicans.
In Michigan, where Donald Trump won by 1.4 percentage points in 2024, Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s support for a $16 billion OpenAI and Oracle data center in Saline Township has angered many Democratic voters. Sarah Brabbs, who lives six miles from the facility and described herself as a lifelong Democrat, said she felt “just rage and sadness” upon seeing Whitmer appear with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at a groundbreaking ceremony last month. “I’m extremely angry watching her essentially throw us under the bus, casually,” Brabbs said. Representative Rashida Tlaib called the governor’s position “disgusting.”
A survey of 600 likely general election voters in Michigan published in May found that an estimated 64% of Democrats opposed having a data center within 25 miles of their home, compared to 51.5% of Republicans. The Democratic candidate for governor, Jocelyn Benson, is married to Ryan Friedrichs of Related Companies, the real estate firm developing the Saline Township data center.
One of the top Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, has called for partial public ownership of data centers. El-Sayed leads AIPAC-backed Haley Stevens in many polls ahead of the August 4 primary. He appears to be one of the few Democrats in the state to fully appreciate the anger over data centers, according to voter interviews.
On Tuesday, New York became the first U.S. state to enact a moratorium on new data centers. Governor Kathy Hochul issued an executive order mandating a one-year statewide pause on the large facilities. President Donald Trump on Wednesday lambasted Hochul for the decision, according to a separate report.
In Wisconsin, a swing state Trump won by less than 1% in 2024, voters have expressed fury at Democratic leaders’ support for data centers. Governor Tony Evers said in September that he and other Wisconsinites were “grateful” for Microsoft’s data center complex in Mount Pleasant, calling it a “modern marvel.” But one month later, Microsoft canceled plans for a data center in Caledonia after local pushback. Four proposals have been canceled and one paused in the state, according to Healthy Climate Wisconsin, a nonpartisan public health nonprofit.
Kelly Gallaher, chair of the Racine County Democratic Party, who lives two miles from the Mount Pleasant complex, said the “tide has really turned” in recent years. “Right here, in southeast Wisconsin, we are so cynical and so skeptical of these kinds of projects,” Gallaher said. “Our candidates have been very outspoken about the need for a moratorium on data centers.”
The Mount Pleasant site was originally a failed $10 billion Foxconn project announced by the first Trump administration. The village of Mount Pleasant borrowed close to $1 billion to fund that project, making village leaders receptive when Microsoft later inquired about the site. Microsoft last month announced the completion of its first data center in Racine County, and a second is expected to open in 2028; the three facilities will collectively use up to 8.4 million gallons of water annually from Lake Michigan.
In Pennsylvania, the issue is bringing Republican and Democratic voters together, according to reports. A Food and Water Watch organizer working in Pennsylvania’s swing districts said she had never seen such a groundswell of opposition, especially in communities targeted for projects.
Emails sent to Whitmer’s office by the Guardian asked if she thought her support for data centers could cost her politically in the future.