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2028 Democratic Hopefuls Take on Data Centers

Data center opposition can foster a bigger Democratic tent by aligning red and blue, and rural and urban communities.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announcing the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act

“How about we put one in Mar-a-Lago?” responded Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) with a wry smile when asked about President Trump’s comment that only communities intent on being “backwards and poor” would resist AI data centers.

The remark highlighted a seismic gap between the Trump administration, which is currently seeking to nix public disclosure of data center air pollution, and the American people. While Trump has extolled data centers, 71 percent of Americans—including majorities of Democrats, independents, and Republicans—say they oppose their construction.

Unlike President Trump, progressive Democrats—and in particular, 2028 presidential hopefuls—have recognized the backlash to data centers as a critical opportunity to mobilize voters across a broad political spectrum and address local communities’ mounting concerns about affordability, health, and environmental protection. Yet they have espoused different and seemingly competing visions for action. Two congressional proposals in particular, a bill by New York’s Ocasio-Cortez and a resolution by California Representative Ro Khanna, offer alternative visions for data center policy and raise crucial questions, not only about which path will better serve communities’ needs but also about which vision will prove most attractive to voters.

The race to implement data center policy comes amid a data center boom, driven by soaring investment in AI technologies as tools like ChatGPT become an increasingly normal facet of daily life. Already, the US is home to over 4,700 data centers, including operational sites and ones under development. While the existing majority are in urban communities, most new ones are being planned in rural areas. These new data centers, which provide AI computing power, are often pitched with the promise of accelerating economic growth and creating local jobs.

Yet the facilities come with sizable hidden costs. They consume significant energy in a still heavily fossil fuel–reliant grid, fueling the climate crisis. Data centers are projected to account for 9.5 percent to 15.3 percent of total US electricity use by 2030. Efforts to meet their insatiable energy appetite are driving a surge in proposed new natural gas plants, threatening to lock in a dependence on fossil fuels that the world must end to avert more catastrophic planetary warming. This build-out also risks profound consequences for public health, as hundreds of former EPA members have warned. One study found that US data center emissions could contribute to approximately 600,000 asthma cases and 1,300 deaths in 2028. Communities have also voiced concerns about rising electricity bills from data center energy use, especially during an ongoing affordability crisis. Data centers have further faced public scrutiny for requiring copious amounts of water for cooling—with large ones consuming up to 5 million gallons per day—which puts pressure on local water supplies and for generating noise pollution. Backlash to Elon Musk’s xAI Colossus data center complex has also illustrated concerns about AI data centers’ burdening marginalized communities and developers’ circumventing regulatory requirements.

The barrage of AI data center impacts has spurred a new wellspring of Democratic organizing, including by youth activists. Young........

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