‘Electoral Poison’: CNN Data Guru Finds Dems and Republicans Are United in Their Data Center Hatred

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said most Republicans and Democrats agree on one big issue: AI data centers. A majority of both liberals and conservatives do not want to have them built near where they live  — making it one of the few issues where both sides overlap heading into the 2026 midterm elections.

Enten reported on the rising anti-data center sentiment on Tuesday.

He pointed to a recent Fox News survey which found 76% of Democrats and 60% of Republicans  said they oppose building a data center in their area “to support artificial intelligence technology,” as the survey put it. Enten said both parties would be wise to drop data center construction as a campaign talking point like a hot potato.

“There is no debate when it comes to where people stand on AI and data centers, and simply put: it’s electoral poison at this point,” Enten said.

He pointed to more results from the Fox survey, which showed 75% of rural voters, 63% of urban voters, and 70% of all voters oppose data centers being built nearby.

“You see across the board clear position which is a vast majority of Americans and voters are against building AI data centers,” Enten added a moment later. “When it comes to the politics of it, it is very clear, people are against it.”

The Fox survey also found the most likely Americans to oppose data centers were white women with a college degree at a whopping 84; those most in favor were MAGA-identified Republicans, but that still came in at 46% in favor.

Their support relative to other Americans makes sense, because President Donald Trump has championed data centers and bashed states like New York which have put laws in place to thwart their construction. Trump said last month NY Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) made a “terrible decision” when she announced her data center ban, with Trump saying data centers provided “LIQUID GOLD” by bringing in jobs and tax dollars.

And earlier this month, Trump said he believed data centers could be “bigger than oil.” 

Watch above.

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