对人工智能数据中心的反弹威胁着共和党在俄亥俄州和得克萨斯州的掌控。随着围绕人工智能数据中心基础设施成本和环境影响的争论可能威胁到共和党在得克萨斯州和俄亥俄州等摇摆州的选情，这一问题在本选举周期的关注度正日益上升。
Backlash to AI data centers threatens GOP’s grip on Ohio, Texas Salience around AI data centers is growing this election cycle as the fight over the infrastructure's costs and environmental impacts may be threatening Republicans in battleground states like Texas and Ohio.
专家和选民表示，农村社区的自下而上的运动正在威胁共和党几十年来所依赖的农村选票，尤其是在特朗普每次竞选总统都以两位数优势获胜的地区。
Grassroots movements in rural communities, particularly where President Trump won by double-digit margins in each of his presidential bids, are threatening the rural vote the GOP has counted on for decades, experts and voters say.
这场争论在俄亥俄州皮卡韦县等地具有代表性——2024年特朗普在该县以约50个百分点的优势击败前副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯——当地居民正在就EdgeConneX最新的数据中心表达自己的意见。
The debate is emblematic in communities like Pickaway County, Ohio — which Trump won by around 50 points over former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 — where residents are airing their opinions on EdgeConneX’s latest data center.
“这件事影响很大，尤其是对参议院选举而言，”正在竞选县委员的俄亥俄州皮卡韦县居民谢里·法林格在谈到数据中心问题时说。
“That's weighing heavily, especially with the Senate races,” Pickaway County, Ohio, resident Sherri Fahringer, who is running for county commissioner, said regarding the data center issue.
根据皮尤研究中心4月的一项研究，数据中心越来越多地建在农村社区，67%的规划项目定址在农村地区。
Data centers are increasingly being built in rural communities, with 67 percent of planned projects slated in rural areas, according to an April Pew Research Center study.
法林格还表示，在俄亥俄州参议院选举中，这个问题正推动选民“进一步向左靠拢”，支持前参议员谢罗德·布朗（民主党）对阵现任参议员乔恩·赫斯特德（共和党-俄亥俄州），后者因过去对数据中心的支持而受到抨击。
Fahringer added that in the Ohio Senate race, the issue is pushing voters “further left toward" former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) in his campaign against incumbent Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), who has been knocked over his past support for data centers.
保护选民联盟与其他气候组织一道，就赫斯特德与数据中心项目的关联对其展开猛烈攻击——其中一则广告打趣说，他“赢得”了“数据中心代言人”的绰号。
The League of Conservation Voters, along with other climate groups, have hammered Husted over his ties to data center projects — in one ad quipping that he "earned" the nickname, “the face of data centers.”
《阿克西奥斯》最先获得的一份8月全国共和党参议院委员会备忘录称，布朗已将反对数据中心作为其“对抗赫斯特德竞选的核心内容”，因为“这招管用”。
An August National Republican Senatorial Committee memo, first obtained by Axios, stated that Brown had made his opposition to data centers a “centerpiece of his campaign against Husted” because “it works.”
备忘录还警告说，“在这场竞选中，数据中心比任何其他东西都更像是挂在赫斯特德脖子上的锚。”特朗普在2024年以超过10个百分点的优势赢得俄亥俄州，但这位共和党现任议员在近期民调中一直落后于布朗。
It also warned that “more than any other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck.”Trump won Ohio by over 10 points in 2024, but the GOP incumbent has trailed Brown in recent polling.
共和党策略师、倡导组织“安全人工智能联盟”主席布伦丹·斯坦豪泽表示：“这确实很有意思，因为我认识很多在当地反对数据中心的人，而这些人都是共和党人。其中许多是MAGA共和党人，来自非常保守的地区。”
“It's really fascinating because I know a lot of people who are opposed to data centers locally, and these are Republicans. Many of them are MAGA Republicans, very conservative areas,” Brendan Steinhauser, a GOP strategist and president of the advocacy group Alliance for Secure AI, said.
他指出，这场争论与其他议题不同，并说：“这件事之所以如此有影响力，是因为你知道这是一个两党联盟，这有点独特。”鲍林格林州立大学的一项民调同样发现，对数据中心的看法是“许多俄亥俄州人拥有一些共同立场的唯一领域”，75%的受访者反对在其当地社区建设数据中心，78%的受访者赞成在完成进一步研究之前暂停新建数据中心。
He noted that this debate differed from other issues, saying, “What makes this really powerful is you know this is a bipartisan coalition, and that's kind of unique.”A Bowling Green State University poll similarly found that opinions on data centers are the “one area many Ohioans share some common ground,” with 75 percent of respondents opposed to data center construction in their local communities and 78 percent favoring a moratorium on the construction of new data centers until further research can be done.
在皮卡威县，法林格说，两党的反对意见集中在项目对当地电网的预期影响、潜在的噪音污染以及项目选址上。
In Pickaway County, Fahringer says the bipartisan opposition has focused on projects' expected impact on local energy grids and potential noise pollution, along with their locations.
“它们被建在紧邻住宅的前农场土地上，离学校非常近，”她说。“我认为这正在颠覆许多人的典型投票方式，你知道，他们原本会按党派路线投票。”农村选票在俄亥俄州举足轻重。根据Cleveland.com利用美国人口普查局数据所作的分析，该州88个县中除5个以外，其余各县超过55%的面积都被归类为农村。
“They're being put on former farms right next to homes, very close to schools,” she said. “I think it is upending a lot of people's typical votes that they would have you know, along party lines.”The rural vote carries weight in Ohio, a state where all but five of 88 counties have more than 55 percent of their area classified as rural, according to an analysis by Cleveland.com using U.S. Census Bureau data.
“农村地区绝大多数是共和党和保守派，”斯坦豪泽表示。“你知道，他们以巨大优势支持了总统，但我认为很多这些选民对此感到担忧……他们不支持总统在这个问题上的立场。”特朗普多次为数据中心的建设辩护，在俄亥俄州的一次集会上称这些项目对该州工业是一大利好。更广泛地说，他对人工智能开发的监管也采取了不干预的态度，而数据中心正是人工智能开发的核心。
“Rural areas are overwhelmingly Republican and conservative,” Steinhauser expressed. “You know, they went for the president by wide margins, but I think that a lot of those voters are concerned on this … they don't support the president's position here.”Trump has repeatedly defended data center construction, arguing at a rally in Ohio that the projects were a boon to industry in the Buckeye State. More broadly, he has also taken a hands-off approach to regulation of AI development, of which data centers are central.
在得克萨斯州，正在竞选连任且是总统坚定支持者的州长格雷格·阿博特（共和党）近期采取了不同立场——提议对该州的数据中心实施新的限制，包括计划制定节水技术要求和废除税收优惠。此前，阿博特曾在2025年试图将得州定位为“人工智能发展的中心”，当时他宣布了谷歌对数据中心项目的新投资。
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who is running for reelection and is a strong supporter of the president, has recently taken a different stance — proposing new restrictions on data centers in the state, including plans to set water-efficient technology requirements and repeal tax incentives. This comes after Abbott attempted to position Texas as the “epicenter of AI development” in 2025, when he announced new Google investments into data center projects.
得州农业专员西德·米勒（共和党）对《国会山报》的广播合作伙伴NewsNation表示，他认为共和党候选人可能会在选举日因得州的数据中心开发而落败。他特别点名批评阿博特没有对这些项目采取更强硬的立场。
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller (R) told NewsNation, The Hill’s broadcast partner, that he believed GOP candidates could lose on Election Day because of data center development in Texas. He specifically called out Abbott for not taking a stronger stance against the projects.
“基本上，我们已经不再倾听民众的声音了，这次选举我们会为此付出代价，”他说。
“Basically, we’ve just quit listening to the people, and we’re gonna pay for it this election,” he said.
得克萨斯大学和得州政治项目10月进行的一项民调发现，66%的农村受访者反对在其社区建设数据中心，而17%的人表示支持。
An October poll from the University of Texas and Texas Politics Project found that 66 percent of rural respondents opposed data center construction in their community, while 17 percent supported it.
土生土长的得州人斯坦豪泽指出，阿博特在数据中心问题上的立场是另一个“很好的晴雨表”，可以衡量“得州人在许多问题上的立场，尤其是共和党人”。他补充说，这位得州州长“看到了这一动向”并做出了调整。
Steinhauser, a Texas native, pointed to Abbott’s positioning on data centers as another “good barometer” for “where Texans are on a lot of issues, especially Republicans.”He added that the Texas governor “saw this movement” and adjusted.
得州拥有全国最多的农村人口，阿博特的对手吉娜·伊诺霍萨（民主党）希望在角逐州长之位时争取这一群体。在同一项民调中，伊诺霍萨在农村受访者中以28%对68%落后于阿博特，但她在整体上领先一个百分点——在民调的误差范围内。
Texas has the country's largest rural population, a demographic Abbott’s opponent Gina Hinojosa (D) is hoping to court in her bid for the governor’s mansion. In the same poll, Hinojosa trailed behind Abbott among rural respondents, 28 percent to the incumbent's 68 percent, but led overall by a single point — within the poll's margin of error.
她将部分竞选重点放在就数据中心问题攻击阿博特上，在接受《纽约时报》采访时表示，“得州农村地区感到被背叛了”，因为州长在人工智能基础设施方面的所作所为。
She has focused part of her campaign on attacking Abbott over data centers, saying in a New York Times interview that “rural Texas has felt betrayed" because of the governor's actions around the AI infrastructure.
“仅得州就有数百万选民目前受此驱动，这将对选举产生影响，”斯坦豪泽评论道。
“Millions of voters in Texas alone are motivated by this right now, and it's going to have an impact on the election,” Steinhauser remarked.