Key Highlights

  • The head of the Heritage Foundation said Republicans made an underappreciated mistake in missing voter opposition to AI data centers.
  • A July national poll found 70% of voters oppose local data centers, though 46% of MAGA supporters favor them.
  • Republican nominees Mike Rogers, Vivek Ramaswamy and Stacy Garrity called for pauses or halts on new Data Center approvals.
  • Trump called Texas Governor Greg Abbott's data center pause a mistake and urged communities to "let Data Reign."

A Rift Opens on the Right

The head of the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank behind Project 2025, says Republicans made an underappreciated mistake in the Nov. 3 midterm elections by missing voter opposition to AI data centers. Kevin Roberts, the foundation's president, spoke at a Heritage event on Nov. 11 held to assess the results. He said conservatives were angry about data centers and that Democrats did a brilliant job, politically speaking, of taking the issue from the right. He added that Heritage is wary of almost all of the large technology companies because it does not trust them.

The argument opens a rift between conservative activists and the technology executives who have courted the administration. A Republican pollster who spoke at the same event described AI concerns as the background music of the midterms and said candidates in 2028 would need a clear view of the role of technology.

Where the Argument Came From

President Donald Trump has backed data center development and says it is central to winning the AI race with China. On Social Media he urged communities that want to be successful and rich to "let Data Reign," and added that "China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement." Asked about Republicans who oppose data centers, he said that "if a Republican's against a data center, that's OK with me."

Resistance grew inside the party over the summer. On Aug. 10, Texas Governor Greg Abbott temporarily halted new data centers from connecting to the state's power grid until companies provide detailed information about their expected electricity and water use. His office cited reliability concerns and said the state's grid operator was tracking a more than 500% increase in peak electricity demand. Trump called the move "a mistake."

What the Polls Showed

Public opinion ran against local projects. A national poll conducted July 17 to 20 of 1,003 registered voters found 70% opposed building data centers in their area to support AI, and 30% in favor. MAGA supporters were the most supportive group, with 46% in favor, followed by Republican men at 45%. Nearly 8 in 10 voters preferred slower construction to address environmental and community concerns, while MAGA Republicans were the group most inclined to prioritize rapid expansion. A May Gallup survey found about 7 in 10 Americans opposed a data center in their community.

Republican Candidates Break Ranks

Several Republican nominees moved toward restrictions before the election. Mike Rogers, the party's Senate nominee in Michigan, said in August that "I think we need to take a pause, probably," and later backed a one-year moratorium on new data centers. Vivek Ramaswamy, the nominee for Ohio governor, pledged a first-day executive order halting approval of all new data center projects until his proposed safeguards are enacted. Stacy Garrity, the nominee for Pennsylvania governor, called for a temporary pause on new major data center developments in her state.

Texas as the Test Case

Texas offered the sharpest test. Democrat Gina Hinojosa won the governorship after pledging a moratorium on data center approvals until the legislature passes new protections. Elon Musk spent an estimated USD 225 million backing Republicans in the state, according to one report. Elsewhere, of 41 local data center ballot measures in 10 states on Nov. 3, at least 25 were approved, and a review of the results found them skewing almost unanimously against development.

A Party Between Its Donors and Its Voters

Roberts's position puts a conservative institution that supports Trump at odds with the donors who funded his party and with an administration that has resisted limits on AI. The distance between the president's stance and the preferences of voters, including many Republicans, is the source of the tension. The poll numbers show that support for data centers is concentrated among the most committed Trump supporters rather than across the party.

The Choice Facing Republicans Over AI

The rift forces a choice the party has so far avoided. The president treats data centers as essential to competing with China, while a large share of voters want construction limited near where they live. The party's funding relationship with technology executives raises the cost of siding with those voters, and its record on AI regulation raises the cost of siding with the donors.

Early signs of direction come from several places: whether Republican lawmakers in states with active data center projects join local restrictions, how the White House responds to calls from within the party to heed AI-skeptical voters, how much AI executives give in the next cycle, and the platform positions that emerge as the 2028 contest takes shape. The Texas legislature's handling of Hinojosa's proposed protections and the next round of local ballot measures show how far the backlash extends.