Texas Republicans Turn Against Data Centers
Voters in red counties are forcing a harder look at Silicon Valley’s Texas expansion
Texas spent years rolling out the welcome mat for tech companies. Cheap land, light rules, and tax breaks pulled in huge data centers meant to power artificial intelligence. Governor Greg Abbott once called the state the “epicenter of AI development.” That talk has changed.
Voters are seeing the cost. Data centers use enormous amounts of electricity and water. Interconnection requests on the Texas grid have ballooned to hundreds of gigawatts, most of them from these facilities, far more than the state’s record peak demand. Critics say households end up paying higher electric bills while companies chase tax incentives. Rural areas also worry about water supplies, night lighting, and projects that bring fewer long-term jobs than promised.
An August Texas Politics Project poll found only 30 percent of Texans would support a data center in their own community. Earlier surveys showed majority opposition, especially in rural counties. That pressure is showing up in Republican races.
Abbott has called for new limits: data centers should pay for their own power infrastructure, use water-efficient cooling, and face tighter rules near rural neighborhoods. He also wants the sales-tax exemption repealed. An audit he ordered in August has paused new grid-connection approvals. Attorney General Ken Paxton, running for Senate, has put out a plan that includes closed-loop water systems, a ban on Chinese technology in these facilities, and support for making the companies cover more of their own costs.
President Trump has warned that fighting data centers could leave the country “backwards and poor.” Texas Republicans have downplayed any split, saying candidates should look after their own communities. The tension is real. For years the GOP sold itself as the party of growth and business. Now many conservatives see Big Tech as another set of distant companies asking for special deals while regular ratepayers pick up the tab.
The industry is spending heavily to change minds, more than $300 million in the midterms, plus ads. Super PACs tied to AI firms have poured millions into Texas alone. Changing public opinion will be hard. Opposition has spread in other states as well.
The argument on the ground is simple. America should compete in AI. That does not mean handing out tax breaks and cheap power while families watch their utility bills climb and wells run lower. Companies that want to build here can bring their own generation, recycle their water, and stop expecting taxpayers to underwrite the boom. Texas conservatives are starting to say that out loud.
Sources / More reading
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/06/08/texas-regulation-data-centers-electricity-power-water/
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/06/10/texas-greg-abbott-data-centers-regulation-sales-tax/
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/06/30/texas-abbott-data-center-development-ban-rural-communities/
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/texas-republicans-dig-in-on-opposition-to-data-centers-poll/
https://www.webpronews.com/texas-republicans-break-with-trump-over-data-center-boom/