Analysis: Red Counties with Current or Proposed Data Centers Shifted Away from Republicans in Midterms

Red counties hosting current or proposed data centers shifted away from the Republican Party in this year’s midterm elections, a recent analysis found.

Deep-red counties with large data centers or proposed projects shifted further toward Democrats in last week’s midterm elections than similar counties without them, according to a new Humans First analysis obtained by Fox News.

Humans First, a conservative advocacy organization focused on AI safety and policy, examined public election results alongside data center project records from 1,540 counties in 16 states, and measured what the group refers to as a “data center penalty.”

Counties with large data centers swayed an additional 2.2 percentage points toward Democrats compared with those free of AI facilities in the same states. Moreover, the pattern held in 14 of the 16 states and in 25 of the 27 governor and Senate races reviewed.

When the analysis was limited to deep-red counties — meaning the ones President Donald Trump won by at least 20 points in 2024 — it showed a 2.1-point raw gap between counties with large data centers and similar counties without such projects.

Meanwhile, deep-red counties with projects still in the proposal stage showed a 1.1 percent gap after controlling for past voting patterns, rural or urban status, population size, racial and ethnic composition, and recent voting trends.

Humans First reportedly identified 114 proposed large AI data center projects across 92 heavily Republican counties, potentially setting the stage for more local altercations.

The group discovered that GOP vote totals fell an additional 1.1 percent in deep-red counties with large data centers compared with similar counties without them, while Democrat vote totals showed no significant change.

The organization stressed that county-level results cannot conclude whether Republicans switched their votes or simply stayed home, adding that their findings merely show an association rather than proof that data centers changed voting patterns.

“Our analysis looked at how counties with data centers voted and how those counties moved to the left,” Humans First Chairwoman Amy Kremer told Fox News.

“I think this happened for the reason I’ve been warning conservatives and Republicans about for some time: People engage politically when issues affect them personally,” Kremer continued.

“There’s nothing more personal than your pocketbook, your health care, your kids and family, your home and your community,” she added. “A data center involves all of those things, which is why I believe these counties moved away from Republicans.”

Notably, recent polling shows strong majority of Americans oppose AI data centers being constructed in their local area. In the midterm elections, 40 out of 41 data center moratoriums or restrictions passed across the country.

In the first half of this year alone, opponents of AI data center construction have blocked or delayed a record number of projects worth nearly $130 billion.

“In many places across the country, developers and companies have gone in and cut deals behind closed doors, under a cloak of darkness, using nondisclosure agreements and shell companies,” Kremer told Fox News. “By the time people in the community find out about the project, it’s too late to stop it.”

“These projects affect the quality of life and how much money people have,” she added. “They can increase the cost of electricity and water, while tax abatements are given to trillion-dollar companies — some of the wealthiest companies in the world.”

Breitbart News reported last week that 40 off 41 data center restrictions or moratoriums passed in the midterm elections in states throughout the country.

AI presents both strong opportunities for American progress as well as landmines that can destroy political careers. Breitbart News social media director Wynton Hall has written his New York Times bestseller Code Red: The Left, the Right, China, and the Race to Control AI to serve as the definitive guide on how the MAGA movement can create positions on AI that benefit humanity without handing control of our nation to the leftists of Silicon Valley or allowing the Chinese to take over the world.

Alana Mastrangelo-Wrask is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.