Voters don't like data centers. They really don't like them close to home

Voters share an opposition to data centers that scrambles usual party lines, according to the latest poll from PBS News, NPR and Marist. Public opposition especially hardens when people are asked about construction in their own communities.

Fifty-eight percent of U.S. voters say the construction of new data centers by companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI will mostly have a negative effect on the country. And 65% of voters oppose construction in their communities, including 43% who are strongly opposed. A quarter of voters say they support data center construction.

The opposition barely follows party or geography. It runs above 60% in big cities, suburbs, small towns and rural areas alike. More than 80% of Democrats oppose local construction. Republicans overall are close to evenly split, with 46% in favor and 44% opposed.

The president's core supporters are an exception. More than half of self-identified MAGA supporters are in favor of data centers in their own communities, the only group that favors construction.

MORE: Why communities are revolting against data centers

The intense opposition to data centers has had far-reaching effects this year. At least 75 data center projects worth roughly $130 billion were blocked or delayed in the first three months of 2026, according to Data Center Watch, a research project tracking opposition efforts. The National Republican Senatorial Committee warned in an August memo obtained by Axios that data centers had become a "sleeper issue" for the entire cycle. And candidates in both parties have featured ads on the issue.

WATCH: How data centers became a major issue in the midterms

What to do about data centers is another issue entirely as lawmakers scramble for solutions. Last week, the House overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation that would require state energy regulators to consider requiring data centers to pay for electrical upgrades in their communities.

Trump, however, remains on the side of data centers. Communities that oppose construction will be "backwards and poor," he wrote on social media last month. "China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement." The split leaves Republicans in districts with angry constituents choosing between them and him.

"I understand the balancing act that Donald Trump is doing," despite public concern and rising energy costs, Republican strategist Melik Abdul said. "From Donald Trump's perspective, it should just be a wild, wild west because he doesn't want the regulations."

Trump, Abdul argued, is worried that more government oversight would lead to a competitive advantage for China, which has fewer regulations.

WATCH: Sen. Mark Warner says U.S. can strengthen AI safety without losing race to China

Democratic strategist Joel Payne said the president is trying to pull his party along with him. "He is essentially trying to make it a litmus test for Republicans," he said. "I don't believe that has been met with the success that he intends for it to."

The president is "out there on his own on this one," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. He added that the anxiety increasingly runs through a broader fear of artificial intelligence.

Neither party, Payne argued, can afford non-answers on this issue. "From a political standpoint, there is no nuance. The public has no nuance within how they think about AI and data centers."

More from this poll

• Democrats lead in new poll as Trump looms over midterms
• Voters trust local election officials. They're less sure about the mail

PBS News, NPR and Marist Poll conducted a survey from Sept. 14 to 15, 2026, that polled 1,280 registered voters by phone, text and online with a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points. For Democrats, the margin of error is 6.5 percentage points; Republicans, 6.8 percentage points; independents, 7.2 percentage points.