As the development of data centers continues to grow into one of the top hot button political issues in the United States, some experts are sounding the alarm on the various left-wing groups and climate activists who are pouring money and resources into data center opposition campaigns.
“It’s a playbook we’ve seen before,” Larry Behrens, communications director at Power The Future, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“I think Americans saw this with the Dakota Access Pipeline. They see this with oil or natural gas production within the United States. This seemingly grassroots organization pops up, but yet they’re all wearing the same T-shirts. They’re all singing the same playbook, and they’re only carrying the same signs, and so when we see that, we see that that’s not really a grassroots organization that money is coming from somewhere, and in this case, against data centers.”
Several left-wing organizations backing data center opposition have benefited from major progressive funding networks, including Public Citizen, which has listed George Soros’ Open Society Foundations among foundations whose “generous support” makes its work possible, and the Sierra Club, which received $3.6 million from Arabella Advisors’ Sixteen Thirty Fund between 2014 and 2022.
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CodePink, which has targeted data center projects, has received funding linked to socialist megadonor Neville Roy Singham, who has deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Fox News Digital previously reported that Singham funneled roughly $285 million into six activist nonprofits, as the U.S. and China battle for global AI dominance.
In Texas, viewed by many as the front line of the data center fight, opposition has been fueled by a network of left-wing groups, including Public Citizen, the Sierra Club and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Public Citizen is a founding member of the Texas Data Center Rebellion, which brought activists from across the state together for a two-day convening in San Antonio, while the Sierra Club’s Austin chapter, PSL and Save Our Springs Alliance teamed up for a July “Defend Dog’s Head” forum opposing a massive Austin development that includes data centers.
Several of the groups actively involved in fueling anti-ICE protests and “No Kings” protests across the country are also involved in pushing back against data centers. Earlier this year, Fox News Digital reported that Power the Future, a pro-energy advocacy group, sent a letter asking Congress to take a closer look at opposition to data centers springing up across the country, pointing out the various left-wing groups that were backing those efforts.
“What they do is they send their money through a maze of organizations, deliberately trying to mask what it is being used for and seeing that the tentacles reach in from far and are made to look local,” Behrens explained. “Now, to be clear, there is local opposition and there are legitimate questions to ask, but when the legislative language is the same, when the talking points are the same. And the lawyer’s points are the same, then we start to see that this is not an organic local movement.”
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The main driver of left-wing groups opposing data centers, in addition to ideological disdain toward President Donald Trump, who has been a staunch supporter of American AI dominance, is the opposition to fossil fuels, Behrens says.
“It’s the same thing that they’ve always opposed, any real progress they’re going to be against, anything that strengthens America, they’re gonna be against, and when it comes to data centers, the reason they’re against them is absolutely clear because it represents American jobs, and it has to be supported by American energy,” Behrens explained.
“And those are two things that the environmental left just absolutely cannot stand. And they’re gonna use delay or distracting tactics. They’re gonna use tactics like saying it’s about the water, it’s about land use. But lo and behold, when it comes time to grow cannabis, they’re more than happy with the water use. When it comes time to plaster solar fields across farmland, they don’t care about land use. When it comes time to put their solar fields across an endangered species area, they don’t care about that endangered species. It’s never what they say it’s about, it’s always against progress and production for American energy and American workers really.”
Data centers have become one of the most talked about political issues of the midterm election season, particularly in states like Texas, Ohio and Nevada, and Fox News polling this summer found voters overwhelmingly oppose building data centers in their own communities, with 70% opposed and 30% in favor.
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Nearly 8 in 10 voters said construction should move more slowly to address environmental and local concerns, while just 20% favored building as quickly as possible to preserve the U.S. competitive edge over China and other countries. Opposition crossed generational lines, though MAGA Republicans and Republican men were the most supportive groups, at 46% and 45%, respectively.
In a recent Fox News Digital op-ed, Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild made the case that data center developers ignoring the concerns of the consumers’ has been a problem that could cost the United States victory in the AI race.
“Climate radicals who spent decades trying to kill fracking, pipelines, and American energy dominance have found their next target,” Hild told Fox News Digital. “They are hijacking legitimate consumer concerns to fuel a massive disinformation campaign aimed at frightening Americans into shutting down the technology infrastructure. The same activist machine that fought American oil and gas is now mobilizing against modern data centers, because its answer to American innovation is always to stop building begins.”
Data center backlash is increasingly reshaping midterm races nationwide, with candidates in both parties facing pressure to distance themselves from data center development or demand tougher restrictions as voters raise concerns about electricity costs, water use and the impact on local communities.
The issue has emerged in major Senate and gubernatorial contests from Ohio and Michigan to Pennsylvania and Texas, with campaigns using data centers in attack ads and candidates who once touted the projects increasingly calling for new regulations, tax changes or construction pauses.
In Texas, the fight has also become part of Democrats’ broader midterm organizing effort in the state. Texas Together, a $30 million coordinated campaign backed by the Texas Democratic Party, Texas Majority PAC, Beto O’Rourke’s Powered by People and other Democratic groups, has hosted data center-focused town halls and press events featuring Democratic candidates, while the El Paso Young Democrats and El Paso County Democratic Party organized a protest against what they called “destructive AI Data Centers.”
Behrens agreed with Hild’s call for different messaging and spoke to Fox News Digital about what data center companies need to do to shift the narrative.
“I think they need to discuss very specifically with local stakeholders, not the ones that are being astroturfed in, they need to talk about the benefits of it, they need to talk about exactly what the data center does because there are legitimate questions about it and Americans have a right to say, what is this going up in our area?”
Behrens added, “But I would also caution to say if you’re not throwing up opposition to any other type of manufacturing, if you’re not throwing up opposition to a large Buc-ees gas station then why the anger over data centers? Because those operations can use a lot of water, they can use a lot of land just like the data centers. So asking the questions is absolutely legitimate, but throwing up needless roadblocks because this is something that the environmental left has told you to dislike, we really need to watch out for that. And I think the bottom line would be if AOC, Bernie Sanders and Kathy Hochul are your intellectual guiding stars for opposing data centers, then you need to really think about where you stand because they’ve been wrong on every major energy issue ever since they entered public office.”
Fox News Digital reached out to CodePink, the Sierra Club, Open Society Foundations and Public Citizen for comment.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Sixteen Thirty Fund spokesperson pushed back saying the group “proudly supported the Sierra Club.”
The spokesperson added: “Across the country, people have legitimate questions about how these projects could affect their communities. Dismissing those concerns as anti-American or anti-progress is absurd. Corporate interests should focus on addressing the potential impacts of data center development rather than attacking those who speak out.”
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