Axios reports:

The Senate GOP campaign arm, in a private memo to top AI companies, warns that toxic views of U.S. data centers are killing the party’s chances of holding a vital seat in Ohio.

• In the memo, obtained by Axios, the National Republican Senatorial Committee says Democrats have made data centers a “centerpiece” of their campaign to defeat Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) — and that it’s working.
• “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 says. “This has become a sleeper issue for the entire election cycle.”

Why it matters: Republicans want the AI companies to do whatever it takes to stem the public backlash.

The big picture: AI CEOs and top Republicans share in the rising panic. They tell us internal polls show data centers are as popular as spent nuclear waste, and more broadly have become a proxy for feelings about AI.

• Tech giants are scrambling to pull together media campaigns to try to shift opinion before it hardens locally and nationally.
• But Democrats aren’t dummies. They see the same polls and are moving fast.
• Even politicians who previously embraced data centers, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), are racing to crack down on them this election year. On Tuesday, Shapiro, ahead of a possible 2028 presidential run, signed an executive order imposing “strict guardrails” for data-center development.

There are now more than 4,000 data centers online across the U.S., with another 3,000-plus centers proposed or in progress. [Continue reading…]