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Policypublished

AI Pact Draws 15-Plus Candidates as Data-Center Backlash Reaches Senate Races

The pledge links rules for AI models to restrictions on data-center deals, but candidates remain divided between pausing construction and imposing conditions on developers.

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AI Pact Draws 15-Plus Candidates as Data-Center Backlash Reaches Senate Races
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More than 15 Senate candidates have signed the AI Pact, bringing data-center politics and AI-model safety into one campaign framework just as opposition to new local data centers reaches 61 percent nationwide. The pledge is not a construction ban. It would target data-center tax breaks, private deals, and excessive energy use, while requiring safety reviews for AI models, payments to workers through an AI dividend, and legal recourse for people or companies harmed by those systems. The five-part pact comes from the Political Integrity Project. Cofounder Daniel Lobo-Lewis says its wording is meant to create a minimum standard candidates can support, including those with strong labor ties. That matters because the policy divide is widening. Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed wants developers to cover rate increases, guarantee grid reliability, and use closed-loop cooling. Republican Mike Rogers supports a one-year statewide moratorium. In Ohio, Sherrod Brown has made data centers central to his campaign, while in Texas, James Talarico is calling for infrastructure funding, fair taxes, and community approval. Moratoriums are already spreading: Texas paused construction temporarily, and more than a dozen Iowa counties have done the same over water, power, and transparency concerns. But Alaska Republican Dan Sullivan is seeking data centers on military installations, showing the issue is not uniformly anti-development. The central question now is whether the pact’s flexible floor becomes project-by-project conditions—or a platform for broader construction freezes.

Story brief

3 key points

The AI Pact is giving Senate candidates a common policy framework as opposition to local data centers reaches 61% nationally and the issue enters six toss-up races. Its signers would target tax breaks, private deals, excessive energy use, and weak accountability for AI models, while stopping short of a construction ban. For developers, the political risk is shifting toward mandatory grid, water, tax, and community...

  1. 01

    The five-part pledge links data-center rules with model safety reviews, worker payments, and legal recourse for AI-related harm.

  2. 02

    Polling finds opposition to new local data centers among 69% of Democrats and 54% of Republicans.

  3. 03

    Michigan’s Mike Rogers supports a one-year statewide moratorium; Texas and Iowa have also seen construction pauses.

More than 15 candidates have signed the AI Pact, a five-part pledge that treats AI data centers and AI models as parts of the same policy problem. It arrives as 61% of Americans oppose new data centers in their communities and the issue surfaces in six Senate races rated toss-ups.

The pact is not a ban on construction. It supports policies to ban data-center tax breaks, backroom deals, and excessive energy use. It also calls for mandatory AI-model safety reviews, an AI dividend for workers, and legal recourse for consumers and companies harmed by models. The pledge is an offshoot of the Political Integrity Project.

A floor, not a construction freeze

The pledge combines restrictions on data-center deals with rules and liability for AI systems. AI Pact cofounder Daniel Lobo-Lewis said its measured wording was designed as a floor candidates could sign, including those with strong labor ties. That leaves room for candidates to press for conditions on projects without endorsing a blanket halt.

One concern, several remedies

In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has proposed requiring developers to cover rate increases, guarantee grid reliability, and use closed-loop cooling systems. He has said he would oppose new projects until federal guardrails exist. Republican Mike Rogers, after previously favoring state and local control, endorsed a one-year statewide moratorium.

The campaign policy menu

  • In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown has made opposition to data centers central to his campaign and criticized Republican Jon Husted over his 2019 defense of a $43.5 million Google tax break.
  • In Texas, Democrat James Talarico has called for developers to fund infrastructure upgrades, pay their fair share of taxes, and obtain community approval before construction. He has cited an estimated $3.2 billion in state tax breaks for data-center companies.
  • In Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson has pledged to regulate data centers within his first 100 days and require developers to build and supply their own power. Republican Susan Collins has expressed concern about energy consumption and electricity costs.

Pauses are already part of the debate

The pact stops short of demanding a moratorium, but moratoriums are shaping the debate. Texas Governor Greg Abbott initiated a temporary halt on data-center construction in August. More than a dozen Iowa counties passed moratoriums this year amid concerns about water use, power demand, and limited transparency. Rogers’s Michigan position adds a statewide pause to that growing set of responses.

The conflict has reached local officials

Not every race is organized around opposition. Alaska Republican Dan Sullivan has petitioned to bring data centers onto Air Force and joint military installations, while a proposed $500 million natural-gas-powered North Slope project has drawn interest and skepticism. In Saline Township, Michigan, an official resigned after citing death threats related to a proposed 1.4-gigawatt Oracle and OpenAI data-center project.

Sources

  1. wired.comCandidates Are Signing a Pact Promising Action on Data Centers and AI Safety
  2. newsweek.comAI data center war: Where Democrats, Republicans in key Senate races stand

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