Fifteen minutes after Susan Bourgeois was appointed to lead Louisiana Economic Development, the state agency responsible for strengthening business growth, she got her first data center pitch.
“I was pulled aside in the lobby of the Hilton hotel by the CEO of Entergy Louisiana, who said, ‘We have a project and need to talk,'” Bourgeois said.
It was a proposal from Meta to build one of the largest-ever AI data centers in the world. Bourgeois jumped on it. Data centers — large warehouses full of servers that power parts of the internet and increasingly artificial intelligence — bring massive capital to communities and can be lifelines in rural areas with declining populations, she said.
Since 2024, demand for AI and the computing power it requires has surged. Technology companies are building data centers across the United States at an unprecedented pace, driven by business needs, consumer usage and government investment. But the strain these facilities place on energy, water, air quality and local aesthetics has ignited fierce opposition in many communities. The issue has become a voting topic ahead of the midterm elections.
“It has become a kitchen table issue, and it has become a very relevant political issue,” said Christabel Randolph, associate director of the Center for AI and Digital Policy. “Tech companies coming to build in their backyard is going to increase their bills,” she said — a concern that ordinary Americans understand as affecting affordability.
With little federal regulation and many states still developing rules, local governments have been the primary decisionmakers on data center projects. “It is very much a Wild West,” said Julie Bolthouse, director of land use at the Piedmont Environmental Council in Virginia. Localities often evaluate data centers the same way they would a Walmart or housing development, and many are the only ones who can turn down projects.
Opposition has moved from social media to packed city commission and town hall meetings, with angry residents citing noise, power demands, pollution, unsustainable water needs, environmental degradation and secrecy in deals. Since Meta began construction on the Louisiana site, residents have complained of brown, foul-smelling water; many now drink only bottled water, WWNO reported.
Voters are punishing elected officials who back projects. In Festus, Mo., four city council members lost their seats over a $6 billion data center. In Independence, Mo., two councilmembers were voted out after supporting a tax break for a large data center. In rural North Carolina, Vietnam War veteran David Batts threatened commissioners who approved a data center near his home — “We will primary you” — and later unseated a four-term incumbent in a Democratic primary.
State legislatures are responding to constituent pushback with a range of bills from eliminating tax incentives to moratoriums. Opposition often cuts across party lines. Maine’s Democratic-controlled Legislature approved a pause on most data center construction — the strongest state-level action so far. Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed for regulations to prevent ratepayer impacts; the Florida Legislature passed a bill to limit data centers’ water and energy use and regulate location.
Despite resistance, the economic lure remains strong. Data center developments bring construction jobs and property tax revenue. Bourgeois said Meta’s Richland Parish project in Louisiana amounts to $1.3 billion in construction wages and nearly $1 billion in tax revenue over five years. To secure these investments, states offer lucrative tax incentives: North Carolina exempts data centers from sales tax on electricity; Georgia provides sales tax breaks on computing equipment. Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, noted data centers are attractive to rural areas because they require few employees and don’t strain housing or schools; they can generate more property tax value than the county’s residents combined.
Some communities have embraced data centers. In Port Washington, Wis., leaders wrote special zoning codes to facilitate construction. Oklahoma officials say planned data centers will boost local school funding and help struggling towns.
Virginia is ground zero: it has by far the most data centers. The state Senate proposed eliminating the sales tax exemption for data centers, a break that has cost the state roughly $1.9 billion. The change has bipartisan support but is contentious. Keith Martin, interim president and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, warned such rollbacks could damage Virginia’s competitiveness and reliability as a partner for industry.
The Sierra Club estimates nearly 1,300 data centers are built or in the pipeline in Virginia, totaling about 390 million square feet. Roughly 12,000 data centers operate worldwide, with about half in the U.S., according to Cloudscene.
On the national level, President Trump has both supported data center development and acknowledged community concerns. In July, he issued an executive order to accelerate federal permitting of data center infrastructure. In March, he announced a “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” urging AI companies to build or procure the energy needed for their data centers and to protect consumers from price hikes; he also released a “National AI Legislative Framework” with suggested Congressional action. Policy analysts say these moves acknowledge affordability concerns but lack enforcement. “The enforcement mechanisms are so weak,” said Ronnie Kinoshita of the Center for Security and Emerging Technology. “The plan is not regulation. It’s not an executive order. It’s a nonbinding list of recommendations to Congress and contains no directives for the executive branch.”
Still, the administration’s interest underscores that the debate has grown from local to national and will be relevant in the midterm elections. “It is becoming harder and harder for our elected officials to turn a blind eye,” Bolthouse said.
METHODOLOGY: Data center locations were sourced from Data Center Map (snapshot as of March 19, 2026). A Python script spatially matched each site to 2025 congressional districts using Census TIGER/Line shapefiles. Boundaries reflect the 119th Congress and may not capture changes ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Counts include operational and planned facilities. Party affiliation was sourced from House.gov; for vacant seats, the most recent officeholder’s party was used.