WorkAugust 6, 2026via The Verge AI
The left and right agree on one thing: no data centers
Why it matters
Bipartisan grassroots backlash against AI data center buildouts is fracturing traditional political coalitions and emerging as a potent local organizing force with potential to reshape electoral politics. Communities across the country are mobilizing against hyperscale facilities, signaling that public sentiment on AI infrastructure deployment may override tech-sector funding and endorsements.
Key signals
- Hernando County, Florida passed yearlong moratorium on data center construction (unanimous vote)
- Multiple Florida counties have passed data center moratoriums
- Humans First organizer has Tea Party roots; framed as populist vs. technocrat divide, not left-right
- Florida Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Byron Donalds has received significant AI industry/data center development funding; endorsement by Trump not swaying rural Trump voters opposed to data centers
- Byron Donalds has shifted rhetoric from explicit data center support to 'responsible development' in response to backlash
- Gov. Ron DeSantis supported bill requiring data centers pay own utilities and use reclaimed water; also pushed tax breaks for hyperscale facilities
- Florida has ~100 smaller data centers but no hyperscale facilities currently
- Data center protests drawing hundreds of people to county/town council meetings across multiple states (Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Arizona, Tucson)
- Local governments show mixed responsiveness: some pass moratoriums, others refuse despite constituent opposition due to limited economic development alternatives
- Key concerns cited: groundwater contamination, PFAS contamination, water usage, noise pollution, lack of long-term jobs (maintenance requires far fewer workers than construction), community character loss, connection to surveillance/ICE cooperation
- Populist left and populist right both skeptical of tech development; contrasts with center-left/center-right technocrat consensus (e.g., Abundance Conference pro-nuclear, pro-AI stance)
- Florida gubernatorial primary election in a few weeks; data center issue may influence outcome
The hook
Nobody talking about this: data centers just became the one issue uniting Trump voters and progressives—and it's reshaping 2028.
Today, I’m talking with Gaby Del Valle, a policy reporter here at The Verge, about the growing backlash against AI data centers.
Gaby recently reported a fantastic piece about Hernando County, Florida, where last month the county commission unanimously approved a yearlong moratorium on data center …