2026-06-07T10:00:00.000Z / 《华盛顿邮报》
俄亥俄州希利亚德——安妮特·辛格和安妮·坎内隆戈将在11月的中期选举中投票，她们心中最在意的议题只有一个：数据中心。
这两位全职妈妈表示，自从亚马逊网络服务公司在一处数据中心园区破土动工以来，她们对这些堆满计算机的巨型仓库的愤怒就从未停歇。该园区紧邻辛格孩子就读的小学，而孩子们常去的游乐场地就坐落于此。如今，辛格再也看不到曾与公园相连的树林和农田里探头的鹿了，她的朋友坎内隆戈则 lament 道，自己现在在家里都能听到高速公路的轰鸣声。
她们反对数据中心的行动促使辛格在读书俱乐部和郊区社区征集签名，推动一项胜算渺茫的全州范围禁止数据中心的公投倡议。这场运动绝非个例。全美各地的选民都在担忧数据中心推高电价、污染空气。盖洛普最近的一项民调显示，超过70%的美国人反对在自家附近建设数据中心。
“这直接影响到我个人，”46岁的前教师坎内隆戈说道。（亚马逊执行董事长杰夫·贝索斯拥有《华盛顿邮报》。）
政治力量正慢慢开始跟上选民的愤怒情绪。此前曾吹捧数据中心为各州经济福音的两党议员都在改口。
俄亥俄州州长迈克·德万（共和党）上月暂停了对数据中心的新税收减免，此前一份独立报告估计，数据中心去年让该州损失了超过10亿美元的税收收入。而竞选公职的共和党人和民主党人都表示，他们希望人工智能企业承担其电力使用成本，以遏制飙升的电费。
但几乎没有政客响应草根阶层要求暂停或禁止数据中心建设的诉求，左翼人士认为，这是民主党人在中期选举前错失了一个彰显自身立场的机会，他们希望此次选举能以生活成本问题为核心议题。
民主党内部存在分歧：一方面，一些工会支持数据中心，因为它们能创造建筑岗位；另一方面，数据中心背后的强大行业势力已投入数百万美元攻击反对它们的政治对手。共和党人此前大多支持数据中心，这得益于唐纳德·特朗普总统的大力支持，直到最近他们才开始表达担忧，因为他们听到了愤怒选民的声音。
数据中心的布局覆盖了多个中期选举摇摆州，这些州将对明年哪个政党控制参众两院起到关键作用。根据行业组织数据中心地图（Data Center Map）汇编的数据，俄亥俄州拥有200多个数据中心，位列全美第六。佐治亚州、弗吉尼亚州和得克萨斯州的数据中心数量更多。
包括参议员伯尼·桑德斯（佛蒙特州独立议员）和众议员亚历山德里亚·奥卡西奥-科特兹（纽约州民主党议员）在内的少数进步派领导人已推动立法，暂时禁止数据中心建设。今年，超过10个州的地方议员也提出了暂停建设的法案。上周，加利福尼亚州蒙特雷帕克的居民批准了全美首个永久性数据中心禁令，超过86%的选民支持这项禁令。
但就连桑德斯背书的竞争激烈选区的候选人，比如密歇根州的阿卜杜勒·埃尔赛义德和缅因州的格雷厄姆·普拉特纳，也未接过这一旗帜。
“我不想无意中退出竞争舞台……然后将政策制定空间拱手让给那些不想施加任何限制的人，”埃尔赛义德在接受《华盛顿邮报》采访时表示。
周一，桑德斯呼吁设立一只主权财富基金，对人工智能企业的股票征收50%的税作为种子资金，让美国人分享该行业的收益。桑德斯在采访中大力宣传这项政策。
“但我认为这也是很好的政治策略，”他说。“你回应了美国民众的担忧，这样做就能赢得选举。”
民主党候选人大多呼吁采取小规模政策干预，许多人表示，数据中心应该为其电力使用付费，并停止向建设所在社区隐瞒开发细节。
“我们需要确保，如果[数据中心]要来这里并获利，它们必须自备能源，不能让我们所有人为其买单，”竞选俄亥俄州州长的民主党人艾米·阿克顿在最近的一次圆桌会议上说道。
正在俄亥俄州卷土重来的前参议员谢罗德·布朗表示，他不知道该州推动将数据中心禁令纳入公投的努力。“关于数据中心，我们要确保投资者为电力买单，而不是住在曾斯维尔、科肖克顿或剑桥的居民，”他说。
该议题在5月密歇根州开放参议院席位的民主党候选人辩论中引发热议，埃尔赛义德称人工智能是一场席卷美国人的“海啸”，需要出台与监管公共事业同等严格的法规。州参议员马洛里·麦克莫罗宣传了她对该行业征税以资助职业培训的计划，而此次竞选最温和的民主党候选人、众议员黑利·史蒂文斯表示，只要数据中心能自行承担资源成本，她就支持建设。“我渴望看到密歇根在21世纪的突破性发展中发挥引领作用，”她说。
许多共和党候选人此前遵循特朗普的路线，特朗普去年夏天签署了一项行政命令，加快数据中心建设。但近几个月来，越来越多的人开始回应基层民众的愤怒。
俄亥俄州州长和参议院竞选候选人维韦克·拉马斯瓦米以及参议员乔恩·赫斯特德此前一直支持数据中心。但两人最近都表达了对数据中心电力使用的担忧，并表示数据中心应该承担相关成本。“我们的目标是支持美国不断发展的科技基础设施，同时帮助确保当地居民获得可靠、负担得起的能源，”赫斯特德在一份声明中说道。这位参议员今年3月与特朗普一起参加了与科技公司的圆桌会议，庆祝这些企业的领导人签署了承担电力成本的承诺书。密歇根州共和党参议院候选人、前国会议员迈克·罗杰斯表示，数据中心需要为其能源付费。
“我们必须应对这个问题，”俄亥俄州共和党主席亚历克斯·特里安塔菲卢说道，他指出右翼社区层面的愤怒情绪有所上升。
对于呼吁全面改革的活动人士来说，政客们的回应不够迅速，也不够实质。
“有钱的大公司会向两党捐款，所以任何人都很难反对它们，”坎内隆戈说道，她没有组织暂停建设的活动，但支持其他相关努力。
人工智能企业已向中期选举投入数千万美元，支持支持人工智能的候选人，并试图击败那些寻求监管该行业的人。许多在民主党内部拥有相当影响力的工会也支持数据中心，专家表示，数据中心创造了数千个短期建筑岗位，但永久性岗位较少。
“这些岗位创造了良好的工会工作，无论是建筑岗位，还是维护和运营岗位，”俄亥俄州劳联-产联主席蒂姆·布尔加说道。
俄亥俄州最近的一项民调显示，71%的选民支持暂时禁止数据中心建设。大多数人表示，数据中心对环境、能源价格以及附近居民的生活质量产生了负面影响。
亚马逊的一位发言人在一份声明中表示，该公司致力于为社区带来“有意义的本地收益”，并自2016年以来在俄亥俄州投资了700亿美元。
“有些人认为，如果民主党成为‘反对数据中心’的政党，民主党就能……横扫一切，”俄亥俄州民主党农村核心小组主席克里斯·吉布斯说道。
但吉布斯表示，这种做法目光短浅，更好的途径是帮助社区与科技公司达成更有利的协议，让社区从数据中心的存在中获得更多经济收益。
“一味地说‘不’，我认为这对民主党未来没有好处，”吉布斯说道。
对辛格和坎内隆戈来说，这场缓慢推进的辩论让人难以忍受。
“这个地区非常棒，”36岁的政治独立人士辛格在谈到这个宁静的哥伦布郊区时说道。“我觉得这有点玷污了它。就像给它抹上了一个污点。”
“我很沮丧，”她补充道。“我想要更好的政客。”
Why most politicians are not calling for data center bans despite voters’ anger
2026-06-07T10:00:00.000Z / The Washington Post
HILLIARD, OHIO — Annette Singh and Annie Cannelongo will vote in November in this midterm battleground with one issue at the top of their minds: data centers.
The full-time moms say their fury over the massive computer-filled warehouses has consumed them ever since Amazon Web Services broke ground on a data center site that stretches from the lush playground their kids use close to the elementary school that Singh’s child attends. Singh can no longer see deer peeking out from the trees and farmland that used to abut the park, and Cannelongo, her friend, laments that she can now hear the roaring highway from her house.
Their opposition to data centers has led Singh to collect signatures at her book club and in her suburban neighborhood for a longshot ballot initiative to ban them statewide. This campaign is hardly a one-off. Voters across the nation are concerned that the centers are driving up electricity prices and polluting the air. More than 70 percent of Americans oppose building the centers in their local area, according to a recent Gallup survey.
“It affects me personally,” said Cannelongo, 46, a former teacher. (Jeff Bezos, executive chairman of Amazon, owns The Washington Post.)
The political energy is slowly beginning to catch up to voter anger. Lawmakers in both parties who have touted the centers as economic boons in their states are backpedaling.
Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) paused new tax breaks for the centers last month after an independent report estimated that they had cost the state more than $1 billion in lost revenue last year. And Republicans and Democrats running for office say they want AI companies to offset their electricity usage to tame skyrocketing power bills.
But few politicians are embracing grassroots demands for a pause or ban on data center construction, which some on the left see as a missed opportunity for Democrats to distinguish themselves ahead of a midterm election that they hope will hinge on cost-of-living concerns.
Democrats are divided because some trade unions support the centers, which create construction jobs, and because the powerful industry behind them has poured millions into attacking political opponents. Republicans have largely supported the centers, spurred by President Donald Trump’s enthusiastic backing, and have only recently been raising concerns as they hear from their enraged base.
The data centers’ footprint encompasses states that are midterm battlegrounds and will be crucial to determining which party controls the House and the Senate next year. Ohio is home to more than 200 data centers, the sixth-most of any state, according to data compiled by the industry group Data Center Map. Georgia, Virginia and Texas host even more of the centers.
A handful of progressive leaders, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), have pushed legislation to temporarily ban data center construction. Local lawmakers in more than 10 states also introduced bills this year to pause construction. Last week, residents of Monterey Park, California approved the nation’s first permanent ban on data centers, with more than 86 percent of voters supporting the prohibition.
But even Sanders-endorsed candidates in competitive races, including Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and Graham Platner in Maine, have not taken up that mantle.
“What I don’t want to do is inadvertently exit the playing field… and then cede the policymaking space to folks who don’t want to impose any limitations,” El-Sayed told The Washington Post.
On Monday, Sanders called for the creation of a sovereign wealth fund seeded with a 50 percent tax on AI companies’ stock, so that Americans would own a piece of the industry. Sanders, in an interview, touted the policy.
“But I think it’s good politics, as well,” he said. “You are tapping into the concerns that the American people have, and you win elections when you do that.”
Democratic candidates are largely calling for smaller-scale policy interventions, with many saying the centers should pay for their electricity usage and stop obscuring details of their development from the communities in which they are built.
“We need to make sure if [data centers] are going to come here and benefit, you need to bring your own energy, you need to not make all of us pay for it,” Amy Acton, the Democrat running for Ohio governor, said in a recent roundtable.
Former senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat mounting a comeback bid in Ohio, said he was unaware of the push to get a data center ban on the ballot in the state. “With data centers, we make sure the investors pay for electricity. Not the people who live in Zanesville or Coshocton or in Cambridge,” he said.
The issue animated a May debate among the Democratic candidates running for Michigan’s open Senate seat, with El-Sayed calling artificial intelligence a “tsunami” coming toward Americans that merits regulations of the same stringency as those governing public utilities. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow touted her plan to tax the industry to pay for job training, and Rep. Haley Stevens, the most centrist Democrat in the race, said she supported building the centers so long as they pay for their own resources. “I’m eager to see Michigan lead on the moonshots of the 21st century,” she said.
Many Republican candidates previously followed the lead of Trump, who signed an executive order last summer to speed data center construction. But in recent months, more are beginning to respond to grassroots anger.
The Republican candidates for governor and Senate in Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Jon Husted, have a history of backing the centers. But both have recently expressed concern about the centers’ electricity usage and said they should offset it. “The goal is to support America’s growing technology infrastructure while helping ensure reliable, affordable energy for local residents,” Husted said in a statement. The senator joined Trump for a roundtable with technology companies in March to celebrate their leaders signing a pledge to offset their electricity costs. Former congressman Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate candidate in Michigan, says data centers need to pay for their energy.
“We’re going to have to grapple with it,” said Alex Triantafilou, chair of the Ohio Republican Party, pointing to an uptick in community-level anger on the right.
To the activists pushing for sweeping change, the response has not been swift or substantive enough.
“The big corporations that have money are donating to both sides, so it’s hard for anyone to oppose them,” said Cannelongo, who has not organized for the moratorium but supports other efforts.
AI companies have poured tens of millions of dollars into the midterms, backing pro-AI candidates and working to defeat those who seek to regulate the industry. Many unions, which have considerable leverage in the Democratic Party, also support data centers, which experts say create thousands of short-term construction jobs but fewer permanent ones.
“These are creating good union jobs, both in the construction, but also in the keeping them secure and maintaining them,” said Tim Burga, president of the Ohio AFL-CIO.
In Ohio, 71 percent of voters said in a recent poll that they support a temporary ban on data centers. Majorities said data centers have a bad effect on the environment, energy prices and the quality of life of people who live near them.
In a statement, an Amazon spokesman said the company is committed to delivering “meaningful local benefits“ to communities and has invested $70 billion in Ohio since 2016.
“There are folks that believe that if the Democratic Party would become a party of no data centers that a Democratic Party could … run the table,” said Chris Gibbs, chair of the Ohio Democratic Party’s rural caucus.
Gibbs said that would be shortsighted, however, and that the better path is to help communities strike better deals with tech companies so they benefit more financially from the centers’ presence.
“Just to be the party of ‘no’ all the time I don’t think is good for the Democratic Party’s future,” Gibbs said.
For Singh and Cannelongo, the slow-moving debate has been hard to watch.
“This area is so great,” Singh, 36, a political independent, said of the peaceful Columbus suburb. “I feel like this taints it a little bit. Like puts a black spot on it.”
“I’m frustrated,” she added. “I want better politicians.”