--- title: "Data Centers and the 2026 Midterms: What the Claims Get Right and Wrong" description: What do 2026 campaign claims get right and wrong about data centers, electricity costs, water use, local impacts, political influence, and privacy? image: https://americanimpact.org/hubfs/image-Oct-27-2026-07-35-49-6418-AM.jpg --- [![American Impact - Trimmed Logo one PNG](https://americanimpact.org/hs-fs/hubfs/American%20Impact%20-%20Trimmed%20Logo%20one%20PNG.png?width=1249&height=574&name=American%20Impact%20-%20Trimmed%20Logo%20one%20PNG.png "American Impact - Trimmed Logo one PNG")](https://americanimpact.org/) - [Home](https://americanimpact.org) - [About](https://americanimpact.org/about-american-impact) - [About the Foundation](https://americanimpact.org/about-the-american-impact-0) - [FAQs](https://americanimpact.org/frequently-asked-questions) - Issues - [Legislation](https://americanimpact.org/legislation) - [Monetary Policy](https://americanimpact.org/monetary-policy) - [Investing](https://americanimpact.org/investing) - [Entitlement Programs](https://americanimpact.org/entitlement-programs) - [Government Taxation, Spending, and Debt](https://americanimpact.org/government-taxation-spending-and-debt) - [Financial Literacy in the United States](https://americanimpact.org/financial-literacy) - [Articles](https://americanimpact.org/blog) - [Donate](https://americanimpact.org/donate) - [Charitable Solicitation Registration Statement](https://americanimpact.org/charitable-solicitation-registration-statement) [Contact Us](https://americanimpact.org/contact) # Data Centers and the 2026 Midterms: What the Claims Get Right and Wrong [American Impact](https://americanimpact.org/blog/author/american-impact) Nov 8, 2026, 8:00:00 AM ###### [AI Infrastructure](https://americanimpact.org/blog/tag/ai-infrastructure) *Data centers can strain local resources, but blanket campaign claims leave out the rules that can protect ratepayers, water supplies, neighborhoods, and taxpayers.* ## **What to Know** - Data centers increase electricity demand, but they do not automatically raise household rates. - Water requirements vary widely according to facility size, cooling technology, climate, and water source. - State and local authorities can regulate data-center impacts within their respective legal powers. - Campaign contributions do not by themselves prove that an official traded a vote for money. - Strong agreements can require developers to pay infrastructure costs and provide measurable community benefits. Data centers have become a bipartisan political target. Environmental groups emphasize electricity, water, and emissions, while populist organizations focus on local control, corporate influence, and tax incentives. Both sides raise questions that deserve evidence, but campaign mailers often present possible risks as unavoidable outcomes. Responsible policy does not require communities to choose between unconditional approval and a permanent ban. Officials can require developers to pay their own infrastructure costs, disclose resource demands, follow enforceable operating standards, and demonstrate what residents will receive in return. That approach tests each proposal on its facts instead of treating every data center as either an economic rescue or a public threat. ## **Higher Power Demand Does Not Automatically Mean Higher Household Bills** Data centers require substantial, continuous electricity. Berkeley Lab estimates that they could represent **9.5% to 15.3%** of total U.S. electricity consumption by 2030, compared with approximately **4.4%** in 2023. Those numbers confirm that grid planning matters. They do not prove that every approved facility will raise residential rates. Household effects depend on whether a utility already has available capacity, whether new generation is added, how transmission and substation upgrades are financed, and whether regulators assign those costs to the data-center customer or the broader customer base. **![](https://americanimpact.org/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Nov-07-2026-07-21-09-7709-AM.png?width=738&height=153&name=undefined-Nov-07-2026-07-21-09-7709-AM.png)** *Projected growth in data-center electricity demand, via the*[*U.S. Department of Energy*](https://www.energy.gov/cmei/systems/articles/smart-transmission-tools-modernize-americas-power-grid)*.* Ratepayer protection requires more than promises. Separate large-load tariffs can include minimum monthly payments, long-term service commitments, upfront deposits, exit fees, and direct payment for new substations or transmission upgrades. DOE’s ratepayer-protection framework calls for technology companies to build, bring, or buy power, pay for required delivery infrastructure, and negotiate separate rate structures. Whether those protections become binding depends on utility tariffs, regulatory orders, and project agreements. Such protections do not eliminate every grid risk. They directly answer the claim that households must automatically finance every new facility. Regulators, rather than campaign slogans, determine how those costs are allocated. ## **Water and Neighborhood Effects Depend on the Project** Claims about “massive water consumption” need location-specific numbers. Congressional Research Service analysis estimates that data centers account for a relatively small share of national water consumption, yet a large facility can create meaningful pressure in a water-constrained community. Cooling technology makes a major difference. Evaporative systems can consume substantial water, while air-cooled or closed-loop designs may use less water but require more electricity. Reclaimed wastewater can reduce demand for drinking water, although availability varies by location. **![](https://americanimpact.org/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Nov-07-2026-07-21-09-3936-AM.png?width=687&height=272&name=undefined-Nov-07-2026-07-21-09-3936-AM.png)** *Community considerations for data-center development, via the*[*U.S. Department of Energy Office of Indian Energy*](https://www.energy.gov/indianenergy/articles/data-centers-exploring-opportunity-tribes)*.* Open-space, traffic, light, and noise concerns are also site-specific. Local governments can require landscaped buffers, building-height limits, truck routes, construction-hour restrictions, downward-facing lighting, sound limits at property boundaries, and setbacks from homes. Backup generators require particular attention because prolonged operation can produce noise and air pollution. Any mailer alleging that a generator incident forced residents to evacuate should identify the facility, date, responsible agency, and official report. Without those details, readers cannot determine whether the allegation describes a verified event, an isolated malfunction, or a generalized warning. Credible approval processes should still require air permits, generator-testing schedules, emergency-response plans, public complaint procedures, and enforceable penalties. Rejecting an unsupported incident claim should never mean dismissing safety planning. ## **Local Benefits Should Be Measured, Not Assumed** Describing a developer as an “out-of-state tech company” says where ownership sits, not whether a proposal benefits the host community. Many American industries involve companies headquartered outside the locality where they invest. Relevant questions concern where costs and benefits land. Communities should examine property-tax revenue, tax exemptions, construction employment, permanent jobs, land payments, utility investments, road costs, and demands placed on public services. **![](https://americanimpact.org/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Nov-07-2026-07-21-10-1055-AM.png?width=619&height=368&name=undefined-Nov-07-2026-07-21-10-1055-AM.png)** *Officials and project partners at a data-center and power-development groundbreaking, via the*[*U.S. Department of Energy*](https://www.energy.gov/powering-americas-ai-future-data-center-resource-hub)*.* Economic benefits can be significant, but they are not automatic. Virginia’s[Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission](https://jlarc.virginia.gov/landing-2024-data-centers-in-virginia.asp?utm_source=chatgpt.com) estimates that the state’s data-center industry supports **74,000 direct and indirect jobs** and contributes **$9.1 billion** in annual state GDP. Much of that economic activity comes from data-center construction rather than permanent operations. Loudoun County received more than **$875 million** in data-center tax revenue in one year. Those results do not guarantee identical returns elsewhere. Local agreements can make promises measurable by specifying tax payments, infrastructure responsibilities, workforce training, local hiring goals, water reporting, and community-benefit commitments. Public reporting should then show whether the developer met those obligations. ## **Political Money and Privacy Require Evidence** Campaign contributions deserve disclosure and scrutiny, especially when officials vote on tax incentives or zoning decisions involving donors. Still, a disclosed contribution does not establish that a politician sold a vote. A corruption allegation requires evidence of an exchange between money and official action, not merely evidence that both occurred. Voters should examine contribution records, meeting disclosures, recusals, lobbying contacts, incentive agreements, and voting timelines. Officials can strengthen public confidence by publishing those records before major decisions and requiring independent fiscal analysis of proposed tax benefits. Privacy claims require similar precision. Data centers provide computing and storage capacity for government agencies, businesses, hospitals, retailers, artificial-intelligence services, and countless ordinary internet activities. A nearby facility does not itself install cameras throughout a community or authorize surveillance. **![](https://americanimpact.org/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Nov-07-2026-07-21-09-1085-AM.png?width=480&height=480&name=undefined-Nov-07-2026-07-21-09-1085-AM.png)** *Core functions for managing data-processing privacy risks, via the*[*National Institute of Standards and Technology*](https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2025/04/nist-updates-privacy-framework-tying-it-recent-cybersecurity-guidelines)*.* Real privacy questions concern who collects information, what data are retained, how they are used, and which legal safeguards apply. Policymakers should address those issues through privacy, cybersecurity, procurement, and law-enforcement rules rather than treating a building permit as proof of surveillance. ## **What Being a Good Neighbor Should Mean** Calls to make data centers “good neighbors” should become enforceable standards rather than campaign rhetoric. A responsible project should pay the incremental infrastructure costs it creates, disclose expected electricity and water demand, comply with measurable noise and lighting limits, protect nearby residents through setbacks and emergency plans, and report performance publicly. Host communities should also understand the value and duration of tax incentives before approving them. Developers that accept those conditions gain a predictable path to construction. Communities gain protection against cost shifting and vague promises. Projects unable to meet the standards should not receive automatic approval simply because they carry a large investment figure. ## **Wrap Up** Data-center opponents identify several genuine risks, but risk is not the same as an inevitable outcome. Electricity costs depend on rate design. Water effects depend on technology and location. Neighborhood impacts depend on siting and enforcement. Corruption and surveillance allegations require evidence. Sound policy asks who pays, what standards apply, what information becomes public, and what happens when commitments are broken. Clear answers to those questions offer a stronger response than either unconditional support or blanket opposition. [American Impact](https://americanimpact.org/blog/author/american-impact) Share this article on [mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20Data%20Centers%20and%20the%202026%20Midterms:%20What%20the%20Claims%20Get%20Right%20and%20Wrong%20&body=Check%20out%20https://americanimpact.org/blog/data-centers-and-the-2026-midterms-what-the-claims-get-right-and-wrong](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20Data%20Centers%20and%20the%202026%20Midterms:%20What%20the%20Claims%20Get%20Right%20and%20Wrong%20&body=Check%20out%20https://americanimpact.org/blog/data-centers-and-the-2026-midterms-what-the-claims-get-right-and-wrong) ##### Read more - [Data Centers and the 2026 Midterms: What the Claims Get Right and Wrong](https://americanimpact.org/blog/data-centers-and-the-2026-midterms-what-the-claims-get-right-and-wrong) - [How Will Washington Choose Refinery Projects for $150 Million in DPA Funding?](https://americanimpact.org/blog/how-will-washington-choose-refinery-projects-for-150-million-in-dpa-funding) - [Fewer Weather Satellites, Lower Cost: What Might America Lose?](https://americanimpact.org/blog/fewer-weather-satellites-lower-cost-what-might-america-lose) ![American Impact - Trimmed Logo white](https://americanimpact.org/hubfs/American%20Impact%20-%20Trimmed%20Logo%20white.png "American Impact - Trimmed Logo white") **Our Contact Info:** American Impact, Inc. 3232 McKinney Ave Ste 500 Dallas, TX 75204 **Phone:** (214) 429-3710 **General Email:** **[info@americanimpact.org](mailto:info@americanimpact.org)** *American Impact and American Impact Foundation are affiliate nonprofit organizations with missions to provide civic and voter engagement and provide financial literacy and fiscal public policy education at the federal, state and local level.* *Contributions to American Impact, an IRS designated 501(c)(4) nonprofit, are not tax deductible.  American Impact Foundation is a section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization under the IRS and contributions are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.* --- © 2024 American Impact Foundation | [Privacy](https://20089053.hs-sites.com/privacy) and [Donation Refund Policy](https://20089053.hs-sites.com/refundpolicy) [Legal](https://americanimpact.org/charitable-solicitation-registration-statement) [Privacy Policy](https://americanimpact.org/privacy)