Data centers are now a midterm issue, even in Brooklyn
At a Brooklyn midterm party five days before Election Day, every conversation, from a council member’s fireside chat to a debate about the Democratic Party, kept circling back to AI and data centers.
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Data centers have become a significant political issue in the 2026 midterm elections, particularly surrounding concerns about AI development and community impact. According to a recent report, almost $200 billion in data center projects were delayed, stalled, or blocked in the first half of 2026 due to political and community opposition, with several states considering new regulations around their development. Public concerns center on secret deals between tech companies and local officials, environmental and health risks, job sustainability, and the sense that communities lack control over what gets built in their neighborhoods. The backlash reflects broader public anxiety about AI replacing workers, the wealth concentration among tech leaders, and the physical presence of data centers as symbols of rapid technological change that benefits the tech industry over local residents.
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