Arizona, Ohio, New York races also feel data center backlash
Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for Texas governor, addressed a Democratic Party-organized crowd of about 160 people seated on fold-out chairs at an Amarillo social club in the Texas panhandle. She described the rapid expansion of data centers as a topic that had only recently emerged as a campaign concern.
“There is this little issue that I recently started hearing about that I wanted to tell you about, in case you don’t know,” Hinojosa said. “It’s this issue of data centers.”
The remark underscored a rapid shift in the Texas governor’s race. When Hinojosa began her campaign last year, data centers were not a subject candidates discussed or heard about from voters, according to the Associated Press. With three months until the November election, the perceived threat to rural life, ranchland, and dwindling water supplies could become a defining issue.
The backlash targets energy-guzzling server warehouses that power artificial intelligence. The issue is dividing conservative rural areas that have traditionally served as a counterweight to Democratic urban strongholds, the AP reported.
The dynamic is giving Democrats a glimmer of hope in a state where Republicans have dominated for three decades. Hinojosa’s longshot challenge to Abbott faces steep odds, but the data center issue may help her cut into the party’s rural disadvantage.
The data center backlash is not confined to Texas. The AP reported that the issue is also shaping other statewide campaigns from Arizona to Ohio to New York, as communities across the country grapple with the environmental and resource demands of AI infrastructure.