Campaigns spend $45 million on data center ads in 2026 midterms

Georgia governor’s race draws most data center ad spending

Campaigns and outside groups have spent more than $45 million on ads mentioning data centers in 2026 gubernatorial, House, and Senate races since January, according to an NPR analysis of political advertising data from AdImpact. From January to August, more than $22 million supported Republican candidates and more than $21 million supported Democratic candidates, with independents driving the remainder.

Both major parties are making largely the same argument in their ads: the sprawling AI facilities get too many tax breaks, drive up electricity bills, and need reining in. Democrats aired 127 data-center-focused ads against 67 from Republicans, according to AdImpact, but Republican ads were larger on average. The ads clustered in states with competitive races — Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, Ohio, Florida, Iowa, and Kansas — and Democrats spread their messaging across more states and races than Republicans.

Michael Franz, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks political advertising, said data centers give each side the talking points it wants. Apart from a chance to talk about affordability, “Democrats can latch on to environmental concerns,” Franz said, adding that for Republicans, criticizing data centers is a way “to go in opposition to big corporations, in opposition to a system that doesn’t care about you.” Data centers are a unique issue where “MAGA Republicans and liberal Democrats” land in the same place, he said.

A June Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 77% of Americans are concerned about data centers raising electricity costs. Two-thirds of Democrats and half of Republicans said they would oppose a data center in their community. Mentions of data centers in campaign ads grew from a handful in January to 62 in June, more than 110 in July, and roughly 164 in August, as Election Day approaches and the issue continues to gain traction.

Georgia leads, Ohio draws NRSC alarm

Gubernatorial races absorbed the most spending on data center ads — about $32 million — followed by House races at roughly $8 million and Senate contests at approximately $5.3 million, according to AdImpact data.

Georgia’s gubernatorial race led all contests, with $12.8 million spent across nine ads mentioning data centers. More than half of the GOP’s spending on data center ads nationwide has gone to Georgia, which has captured about 30% of total data center ad spending. Six of the ads discouraged voters from backing Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who lost the June runoff to healthcare billionaire Rick Jackson. Some of those ads were run by Georgians for Integrity, a group that has spent millions attacking Jones since 2025, using data centers as a stand-in for Jones’ alleged corruption.

In Wisconsin, a Believe in Wisconsin PAC ad supporting Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley — which the group spent $634,795 to air in August — promises that Crowley “will lower costs, make housing affordable, stop AI data centers from making your energy bills skyrocket.”

In Florida, Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds cast himself as a check on data centers, vowing to “protect Florida families and communities from data centers that jack up utility rates and make everything else more expensive,” and “fight for a ratepayer protection plan.” The Friends of Byron Donalds PAC paid over $2.5 million to air the ad. Similar ads have run in support of Democrat Rob Sand in Iowa and Republican Ty Masterson in Kansas.

Ohio Senate race draws party warning

In Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, supporters of Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown have spent millions describing his opponent, Republican Sen. Jon Husted, as “the face of data centers” and accusing him of “giving corporations over $2.5 billion in out of control tax breaks and causing electric bills to spike by thousands of dollars.”

Republicans are aware of the shifting tide. In an internal memo obtained by NPR and first reported by Axios, the National Republican Senatorial Committee singled out the Ohio race, called data centers a “sleeper issue for the entire election cycle,” and warned the tech industry that a Husted loss would make politicians nationwide wary of the industry.

Husted is not airing ads on the topic. He championed data centers as Ohio’s lieutenant governor but has since introduced congressional legislation to protect ratepayers from the higher electric rates that data centers can cause. In an interview with Spectrum News, Husted addressed a seeming shift in his position. “It’s not really a shift,” he said. “I was always trying to hold these companies accountable by making them pay local property taxes,” adding that he had pushed to require the companies to hire locally. “So this is very consistent for me, holding them accountable.”

Parties cautious in public, aggressive on airwaves

A Republican Party operative spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity, saying the party is not commenting publicly on data centers because views within the party vary. The operative said the most popular answer from internal polling is that voters “could potentially have data centers as long as they pay for their own energy,” adding that data centers are necessary to win the race against China “and increase jobs in local communities.”

Olivia Davis, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Governors Association, said data centers are creating deep concerns around affordability and utility costs. “That’s why it’s being included in paid media,” she said.

Federal-state tension emerges

Darrell M. West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation and co-editor in chief of TechTank, said the federal government has limited direct leverage over data center construction. “The federal government doesn’t really play a role in permitting the construction of new data centers,” West said. “Governors are under a lot of pressure to slow the construction of new data centers just based on public opposition to them.”

The issue has spilled beyond gubernatorial races into some of the country’s marquee Senate contests. Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico has said Washington should step in.

The Republican turn against data centers is more striking because experts say the party has positioned itself as pro-business. West said Republican incumbents and nominees “want to slow down the movement towards data centers because they can see so many of their own voters are opposed.” That leaves the party at odds with President Trump, who has urged states to keep building data centers while admitting they could “use a little public relations help.” West said of Trump: “Trump seems oblivious to public opinion on a number of fronts. Typically, when the public shifts, politicians shift with them. Trump is not doing that on data centers.”

The $45 million in campaign ad spending through August represents a measurable political consequence of the voter concerns documented in MSI’s prior coverage: the Annenberg survey finding that 61% of Americans oppose new datacenter construction, and the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm warning that voter anger over data centers could cost the party a seat. The AdImpact data show both now translating into concrete ad spending across competitive races.