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President Donald Trump, speaking alongside cryptocurrency leaders at the White House this week, made a statement that Republican and Democratic candidates alike wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole.

“If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a chance to get a big plant in, an AI plant or a data center,” Trump said, “I would absolutely want it because the jobs are enormous and the money paid, the taxes paid, are just enormous.”

It’s not the kind of message anyone is using in competitive midterm races.

The race to build data centers, which power artificial intelligence and cloud computing, has run aground amid frustration from voters who don’t want to live near the massive warehouse campuses. Even the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm warned that anger over data centers — some of which dwarf football stadiums and use more energy than small cities — could cost them a seat.

Opposition stretches across the political spectrum because of fears that the behemoths will jack up electricity bills, drain people’s water wells, create unhealthy amounts of air and noise pollution and forever change a community’s character — all while getting lucrative tax breaks from states competing for their business.

Trump has framed data centers as a necessary component of a top national and economic security priority: winning the AI race against China. However, he also has acknowledged concern over rising electricity bills, previously saying “it’s only fair” for the companies to shoulder their costs.

He also suggested this week that data centers need “a little public relations help.” In recent months, he has gotten tech giants to sign a voluntary pledge to shield U.S. consumers from higher utility bills from data centers, even as he pushes to streamline the process for companies and utilities to build their own power plants.

But building power plants doesn’t happen overnight, and the immediate political reality for candidates across the country is far different.

“It is yet another dimension in which the White House appears tone deaf — tone deaf at best and indifferent to the interest of other Republican candidates at worst,” said James Henson, the director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas, Austin, a nonpartisan research organization.

Republican committee issues warning over data centers in Ohio

Statewide candidates from Nevada to Wisconsin, both Republican and Democratic, are weaponizing data centers against their opponents, and candidates who absorb those attacks are subsequently trying to distance themselves from them.

In Ohio, a data center hot spot with closely contested races for governor and U.S. Senate, the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned in a memo Tuesday that Sen. Jon Husted is vulnerable to losing his seat because of the centers.

Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown is airing attack ads against Husted that call him the “face of data centers in Ohio” as people gather signatures for a statewide referendum to ban their construction.

The Republican memo said it’s been a “sleeper issue for the entire election cycle.”

“Brown is using it because it works,” the NRSC said. “More than any other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck. If he loses and data centers get the blame, politicians across the country will take notice — and they will not go near the next one.”

The memo suggested voters may balk at Democratic candidates who want to stop data center construction altogether in favor of a Republican candidate who only wants data centers built if a community approves it in a local vote and it pays for its own power, water and other utilities.

Most registered voters oppose building a data center in their area, according to a July Fox News poll.

Still, the issue falls behind other voter concerns, such as cost of living, as November looms. A Quinnipiac Poll conducted in June asked voters what issues were important in deciding who to vote for in U.S. House elections, and about 4 in 10 mentioned AI data centers.

Trump’s statement already put to use in Nevada race

In Nevada, Democrat Aaron Ford quickly tied Trump’s statement to Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, characterizing them as being in “lockstep on data centers.”

In a statement, Ford said Trump and Lombardo are “Nevada data centers’ biggest cheerleaders” who “only care about catering to their ‘billionaire friends’ while Nevadans pay the price.”

Ford this week unveiled a policy platform in which he said he would halt new state tax breaks for data centers — he estimated them at $200 million currently — while auditing existing projects to ensure they are delivering on promises. He also said he would ensure data centers pay for their electricity needs, do not deplete Nevada’s water supply and help local governments negotiate strong benefits agreements with developers.

Texas’ governor changed course and got a jab from Trump

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who last November celebrated Google’s announcement of a $40 billion investment there by calling the state “the epicenter of AI development,” is under attack from his Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa, over his pursuit of data center development.

Abbott has since changed course by promising tougher action, such as removing the state’s sales tax exemption and holding up projects to review their energy usage.

Trump criticized the shift, saying “I think it’s a mistake” in a recent interview with Punchbowl News.

Asked about Trump’s support for data centers, Abbott’s office said the governor’s “top priority is to protect Texans’ safety and quality of life and ensure the integrity of our power grid and water supply.”

“Simply put, Texans must come first,” Abbott’s office said.

Data centers complicated Wisconsin governor race

While Trump embraces data centers, even some of his allies are using them for political attacks. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, running for Wisconsin governor, released a TV ad this week branding his Democratic opponent as “Data Center David Crowley.”

The ad includes a clip of Crowley saying Wisconsin could become the “AI and data hub not only for the entire country, but for the entire globe.”

Crowley has said local communities must have veto authority while also calling data centers a part of the modern economy that could bring significant economic benefits to the state.

Tiffany, who Trump has endorsed, has also said positive things about data centers. In January, Tiffany called data centers “exciting new technology,” in an interview with PBS Wisconsin. And last December, he voted for a bipartisan bill known as the SPEED Act, which is designed to accelerate construction of new AI infrastructure projects like data centers. It hasn’t passed the Senate.

Neither Tiffany nor Crowley support a moratorium on new data center construction.

Tiffany has called for repealing the state tax incentive for data centers, while Crowley has not. They both have called for stricter regulation.

Crowley, at an event Wednesday where he received the endorsement of the environmental group Clean Wisconsin, downplayed the attacks Tiffany has made against his data center position.

“He’s getting very good at saying one thing and doing something different,” Crowley said, pointing to Tiffany’s votes in support of the SPEED Act.

“What Congressman Tom Tiffany’s doing is lying because he’s trying to run away from his record in Congress,” Crowley said.

This story is published in partnership with The Associated Press.

Trump embraces data centers as backlash shapes races in Wisconsin and nationwide is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley jumped back into the race for governor Saturday in a last minute attempt to take control of the contest just 24 days before the August primary.

Crowley’s campaign also got a boost with an endorsement from Gov. Tony Evers, who had previously declined to back a candidate in the Democratic primary.

The late maneuvering underscored a schism in the state Democratic Party between traditional Democrats and Madison Rep. Francesca Hong, the democratic socialist who has energized the party’s progressive base. 

This past week, a group tied to the Republican Governors Association began running a multi-million dollar ad campaign that many Democrats viewed as an attempt to boost Hong in the Democratic primary.

What worries some Democrats is that Hong’s brand of politics is too liberal for a general election and would ensure a victory in November by Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany.

At his campaign re-launch in Milwaukee, Crowley said the RGA is “bankrolling millions of dollars, not to attack a Democrat, but to boost one up” without mentioning Hong by name.

“Democrats cannot afford to head into this general election with a nominee who lacks the experience, who lacks the record, or the coalition necessary to win this race, especially with Republicans actively trying to hand us that exact outcome,” said Crowley. “This election is too important to gamble on, and that’s why today I am re-entering this race.”

Crowley said it’s time for Wisconsin Democrats “to make our choice” and fight back.

“My record proves that I can do it, and I am ready for this fight on day one!” said Crowley.

In a statement, Hong said she welcomed Crowley back to the race, and looked forward to the perspective he’d bring as the candidates make their cases to voters in the next three weeks.

“Competition is good for democracy, and voters deserve a substantive debate about the future of our state,” Hong said.

Not all Democrats were as understanding.

While the theory of Crowley’s return to the race is that he’ll unite the party and prevent Hong from advancing and losing in the general election, there’s also a clear chance it could divide Hong’s Democratic opponents just enough to ensure she wins the primary.

The campaign of former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who was the only candidate to come close to Hong the last time Marquette University released a public poll on the race, issued a statement that criticized Crowley, titled “David Crowley Left This Race For A Reason.” The statement noted that Crowley had only received 3 percent in three Marquette surveys on the race.

“With just 3 weeks until Election Day and after nearly 70,000 people have voted, this Hail Mary serves no purpose other than playing spoiler and handing our state to Trump’s handpicked candidate in Tom Tiffany,” said Barnes Campaign Manager Darby O’Connor.

Evers endorsement a wild card

One factor Crowley will have going for him in this home-stretch run that he didn’t have earlier is the public backing of Evers.

In a social media post Saturday, the governor said he didn’t plan to endorse anyone in the race, “because I know each of the candidates” and wanted to give them time to make their case to Wisconsin residents.” But he said in a tight race, Democrats need to rally behind Crowley to prevent Tiffany from winning the governorship.

Today, I'm endorsing @DavidcCrowley to be Wisconsin’s next governor.

I'm urging Wisconsinites to join me in uniting and supporting David in the upcoming August 11 primary and the November election.

We’ve got a lot to do and only a short time to do it, folks. Let’s get to work! pic.twitter.com/KvArA2cZdt

— Tony Evers (@Tony4WI) July 18, 2026

“Wisconsin only knows one direction to go, and that’s Forward, and let’s unite to make sure David is our next governor so we can keep building the future our kids and grandkids deserve,” said Evers. “We’ve got a lot to do and only a short time to do it. Let’s get to work.”

The governor declined to get involved in the primary earlier, despite several candidates in the race who’d held prominent roles in his administration.

That includes Barnes, Evers’ first lieutenant governor, and current Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who ended her campaign for governor Friday amid financial turmoil. It also includes Joel Brennan, the former secretary of Evers’ Department of Administration, whose campaign said he would remain in the race.

“Joel Brennan is in this race to win it,” read the statement. “Wisconsin needs a candidate who can beat Tom Tiffany in November and get to work for Wisconsin families from day one. That was true yesterday, and it’s still true today — no matter who else is in or out.”

Madison Sen. Kelda Roys has also said she’ll remain in the race, regardless of who gets in.

“I have a lot of respect and affection for David, but I would hope that he makes the right choice for the party, which is that we should be moving forward,” Roys said during a Friday interview with WISN-TV. “What I am hearing from people is that they want to see consolidation of support behind a candidate who can actually win this primary.”

Republicans seemed to relish the last-minute scramble by Democrats, which has given Tiffany the chance to run millions of dollars in ads boosting his brand.

“Remember,” said state GOP Chair Brian Schimming on X, “for all the absurd antics among Wisconsin Democrats right now, there is an irrefutable, undeniable fact: it’s all about stopping #FrancescaHong. All. Of. it. Full stop.”

This story was produced by WPR.

David Crowley returns to governor’s race in last-minute effort to win Democratic primary is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Wisconsin Democratic candidate for governor Sara Rodriguez said Monday that she discovered her campaign has hundreds of thousands dollars less cash than she thought after campaign ads slated to run last week did not air because of unpaid invoices.

Rodriguez, the current lieutenant governor, announced late Sunday night that she had fired her campaign manager after discovering contributions had been double counted and expenses were undercounted, leading to her campaign having far less money than she thought.

Rodriguez, at a news conference surrounded by supporters, vowed to remain in the race.

“This campaign is going to move forward,” she said in the appearance at her campaign headquarters.

Rodriguez is in a competitive primary for Wisconsin’s open governor’s race against democratic socialist Francesca Hong, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and three others. The winner of the Aug. 11 primary will advance to the general election against Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who faces only token primary opposition.

Last week Rodriguez announced a $1 million television ad campaign buy. But when the ads didn’t start running as she expected, Rodriguez said she began asking questions and discovered the problems in the campaign reports.

“I am hurt, angry and deeply disappointed by someone I trusted to run my campaign,” Rodriguez said of her fired campaign manager. “I was continually getting inaccurate reports from my campaign manager.”

Rodriguez’s next report covering money raised and spent over the first six months of the year is due on Wednesday.

Rodriguez said her campaign immediately notified the Wisconsin Ethics Commission on Monday and was working with them to correct the report filed in January that covers donations and expenditures made last year.

Rodriguez would not say exactly how much her filing was off by because the work to reconcile the books was ongoing. But she said her campaign had raised about $1 million and had about $200,000 cash on hand.

After she announced the $1 million ad buy last week, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley dropped out of the race and endorsed Rodriguez. Another former Democratic candidate, former state economic development director Missy Hughes, endorsed Rodriguez after she ended her campaign last month.

Democratic challenger Joel Brennan, a former top aide to Gov. Tony Evers, called the errors by Rodriguez’s campaign “disqualifying.” Evers has not endorsed anyone in the primary.

Rodriguez said she was being up front about what happened.

“If I were trying to hide something I would be here today telling you about it,” she said at the news conference. “Most people are not going to stand in front of this many cameras and microphones to talk about fixing an error.”

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit and nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters to get our investigative stories and Friday news roundup. This story is published in partnership with The Associated Press.

Wisconsin governor candidate Sara Rodriguez fires campaign manager after finance errors is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.