Two years ago, the nickname “Data Center Darline” might not have been so bad. The AI industry was at the beginning of its boom, and data centers were framed as a promising economic development that could spread the wealth of America’s high-tech economy from Silicon Valley to beyond. Twenty twenty-six is a very different time, however.
Graham has received $4.5 million this midterm cycle from AI booster groups, according to recent Q3 Federal Election Commission filings. That’s over three times more than any candidate in the country, but the reason for that isn’t because Graham is an outstanding champion of the cause. Rather, it’s reflective of an industry desperate to maintain allies in an increasingly hostile climate.
Last month, Newsweek analyzed the AI records for every member of Congress’s stance on AI, assigning AI Policy Scores to each member, rated one through five (one being a skeptic and five being a booster). While the results were largely mixed across partisan lines, one clear pattern emerged: Republicans in Congress average a 3.64 Lean Booster score on Data Centers while Democrats are Lean Skeptics at 1.97. Pro-AI independent expenditure spending this cycle now totals over $29 million.
That figure, which just encompasses direct spending on candidates and does not include 501(c)(4) “dark money” groups, likely represents the tip of the iceberg. Meanwhile, AI booster groups have spent $18.5 million on Republicans this cycle and $11 million on Democrats. The only Democrat who’s received more than $1 million from pro-AI groups, Congressman Ritchie Torres of New York, posts an AI Policy Score of 3.4, leaning booster.
As a whole, AI-skeptic groups have spent $9 million attacking Republicans and under $1 million attacking Democrats. Democratic Congresswoman Valerie Foushee of California and Republican candidate Carlos De La Cruz Jr. of Texas are the only two candidates who’ve seen over $1 million in support from skeptic groups, per FEC filings. The Trump Administration has bet its economic platform on the AI industry, pouring billions into the sector and thus latching Congressional Republicans to the issue.
A September CNN poll found over 75 percent hold fears and concerns over the growth of AI, which has pushed the industry into a late sprint to save its allies in Congress. Seven in 10 Americans oppose the construction of data centers in their community, Gallup found. And the issue is having resonance in normally safe Republican seats, like Graham’s.
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