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Data-center opposition reaches 61% as Build American AI deploys $50 million campaign

8/31/2026

61% of Americans oppose building a new data center in their community, including 54% of Republicans, according to an Annenberg survey.

Into that political headwind, Build American AI, an advocacy group linked to the pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future, is deploying a $50 million campaign targeting Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin, while launching a new super PAC to back data-center-aligned candidates.

President Trump, nine weeks from the midterms, amplified the push on Truth Social, warning that communities resisting data centers risk being "backwards and poor." | Opposition to new local data center | Share | |---|---| | All Americans (Annenberg) | 61% | | Republicans (Annenberg) | 54% | The polling gap is the problem Trump's intervention may deepen.

Republicans in key battleground states spent weeks quietly recalibrating their positions on the issue.

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