The U.S. Climate Politics Almanac: The 2026 Data Center Elections

In our previous post, we covered the national popular revolt against the fracking-powered hyperscaler AI data-center boom, with legislators and other elected officials being forced to respond with dramatic policy shifts. Below, we look at local, state, and national races where data centers are front and center, including where the AI industry is spending tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars to influence the outcomes and maintain their grip on our politics, and where data-center backlash is creating opportunities for climate-populist candidates.

Maine-U.S. Senate

For months, Maine governor Janet Mills had struggled to gain traction in her US Senate campaign, and by April, it was clear she was trailing oyster farmer Graham Platner. The final blow for Mills came when she vetoed legislation that would have made Maine the first state to institute a data center moratorium. Mills insisted on an exemption for the town of Jay, where a data center developer called Sentinel was purportedly working to build a data center on the site of a shuttered paper mill. 

Proponents claimed Mills’ excuse was pretextual. Mills’ veto seemed a concession that she’d given up any hope of catching up to Platner, and indeed, she suspended her campaign a few days later. In June, two events transpired: first, Sentinel canceled its plans to build a data center in Jay anyhow, and former House Speaker Hannah Pingree became the Democratic nominee to replace Mills as governor. Pingree has said she would sign a data center moratorium.

Eight Democrats are vying for the Maine Democratic Party’s nod to replace Platner; at debates last night the primary topic was the ICE assassination of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddesford last week. The state party is holding its nominating convention on July 25.

Oregon—State Senate District 15

In May, voters in the city of Hillsboro, “ground zero of Oregon’s data center boom,” turned against incumbent state senator Janeen Sollman after she sponsored a bill called the Oregon JOBS Act that would have paved the way for data center construction. Myrna Muñoz, endorsed by Lead Locally, Oregon LCV, and numerous other climate and environmental organizations, organized in support of a data center moratorium, and sponsored ads attacking Sollman for her support of data centers. Muñoz won, despite getting outspent 2-to-1.

Colorado—8th Congressional

At the end of June, Democratic primary voters in Colorado’s 8th congressional district chose state representative Manny Rutinel over former state representative Shannon Bird, a Blue Dog Democrat. Rutinel, a climate activist, won significant financial backing from tech tycoons who favor safeguards on AI development and credited Rutinel for his authorship of AI regulations that were subsequently weakened. Bird had voted against those regulations, saying that they “went too far and would stifle innovation in Colorado.” Rutinel will face Republican Rep. Gabe Evans in a tossup election in November.

Minnesota—St. Louis County District 1

Residents of Hermantown, Minn. have organized strongly against a hyperscale proposal that was recently revealed to be from Google. For months, the identity of the developer was not known, due to controversial non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) signed by the county and municipal officials. (NDAs are a highly unpopular tool deployed by data center developers.)

St. Louis County (Minn.) Commissioner Annie Harala has said she regrets signing the NDA with Google, and has testified in support of state legislation to prohibit local officials from signing NDAs with hyperscalers. Nonetheless, her signing of the NDA was the key reason why she lost the DFL party endorsement to primary challenger Kris Eilers. The election is August 11th.

Still, the AI money often does still win.

Utah—1st Congressional

In the primary for Utah’s first congressional district, which became a safely Democratic district through a court order late last year, grassroots opposition to hyperscale proposals was not enough to propel a climate champ to victory. State senator Nate Blount had endorsements from numerous climate organizations, and had largely staked his campaign on his longstanding opposition to data centers. Nonetheless, former Rep. Ben McAdams, a conservative Democrat during his previous term in Congress, is set to return after easily beating Blount and several other candidates. McAdams received substantial support from Leading the Future, Open AI’s Super PAC, which staunchly opposes regulation. (Blount and other primary opponents also cried foul about McAdams’ personal stake in one Utah-based data center proposal.)

New York—12th Congressional

With backing from Marc Andreessen and other extreme AI authoritarians, Leading the Future has quickly emerged as one of the biggest spenders in congressional elections. In the open primary for New York’s 12th congressional district, Leading the Future spent heavily to elevate Micah Lasher over Assemblymember Alex Bores, who had drafted AI regulations in the state legislature. Leading the Future’s ads emphasized Bores’ background working for the surveillance state ICE collaborator Palantir— a worthy critique of Bores, until one considers that Palantir’s founder is one of Leading the Future’s top donors. 

Super PACs funded by Open AI competitor Anthropic and the broader “effective altruism” movement spent big on behalf of Bores, but Lasher ended up winning the primary. The effective-altruist Super PACs are Public First, run by former Democratic congressman Brad Carson, and the Guardrails Alliance, run by feminist Democratic operative Shaunna Thomas. They’re backed by numerous investors who purport to support AI safety. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei had an infamous falling out with Open AI CEO Sam Altman, and Amodei has sought to portray Anthropic as the industry’s responsible actor. Whether viewed from the standpoint of economics or climate policy, however, the distinctions between Altman and Amodei are fairly meaningless.

Looking ahead, there are at least two more congressional primaries where the AI buildout may loom large.

Michigan—7th Congressional

Sunrise Movement co-founder Will Lawrence has emerged as a surprise frontrunner in the primary for Michigan’s seventh congressional district, a tossup seat near Lansing. Lawrence highlighted opposition to data centers in his first ad, with The American Prospect explaining Lawrence’s view that “the data center question is really about the same dynamics of money and power that have led the public to (correctly) believe that government doesn’t listen to their concerns.” That primary will be decided on August 4.

Massachusetts—4th Congressional

Another primary where data centers might play a role is Massachusetts’ fourth congressional district, which Rep. Jake Auchincloss has represented since narrowly winning a crowded primary in 2020. Auchincloss is one of the most tech-beholden Democrats in Congress, appearing prominently at centrist “Abundance” cons, bending over backwards to deregulate crypto, and volunteering to NOTUS that he uses AI to tell his children bedtime stories. 

AI researcher Jason Poulous is challenging Auchincloss because he has “seen firsthand how rapid technological change threatens to displace millions of workers while concentrating wealth and power in the hands of a few tech giants.” Poulous has used his campaign blog to attack Auchincloss’ moves in Congress to promote the interests of crypto, Big Pharma, and AIPAC. Auchincloss is also being challenged by public school teacher Chris Boyd. Given the strong wave of anti-incumbent primaries this cycle, Auchincloss could be vulnerable, especially if one of his challengers drops out before the September 1 primary. 

Kansas-Governor

Republicans are going on the attack in primaries as well. Right-wing allies of businessman Phillip Sarnecki are running ads attacking Kansas Senate president Ty Masterson’s support for data center tax credits against him in an effort to defeat Masterson—Trump’s endorsed candidate—in the August 4 open Kansas gubernatorial primary.

Wisconsin—Governor