Data-center fury is a campaign dud

Tales of data centers’ impact on this election may have been greatly exaggerated.For months, prominent outlets ran headlines like “Data centers have become political napalm.Election Day will show how far it’s spread,” “Data centers are galvanizing the midterms” and “How data centres became the sleeper issue that could decide the US midterms.” But all that outrage likely will not amount to much.

In polls nationwide and in states where data centers have supposedly been a hot topic, such as Texas and Ohio, the issue consistently ranks among the least important to voters.In a CNN Texas poll last month, just 3% named the issue as their top concern; in Ohio, only 2% did.The polling — and guidance from political strategists — suggest that the media coverage and activist frenzy surrounding data centers simply isn’t moving the needle.It is a dramatic shift from earlier this year, when politicians across both parties raced to distance themselves from the industry.

Republican Texas Gov.Greg Abbott ordered a pause on new environmental permits for data centers, while Democratic Pennsylvania Gov.

Josh Shapiro removed them from his state’s fast-track permitting program.In Ohio, Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown attacked Republican Sen.Jon Husted for helping bring data centers into the state, while Husted introduced legislation aimed at protecting residents from higher electricity bills.

Likewise, in Texas, Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico pushed for tougher restrictions on data-center development.But now? That has largely been forgotten, strategists say.“Candidates who made a data-center moratorium a pillar of their campaigns didn’t get much traction… centering on data centers is going to distract Democrats from the core issues that we know voters are deciding on,” said one Democratic strategist.“Candidates in these ‘data center’ races are primarily putting their ad money into messaging around the economy, corrupt...