Red counties with data center projects swung away from GOP in midterms, analysis finds

close Video AI safety group warns Republicans are losing voters over data center projects Humans First Chairwoman Amy Kremer said opposition to AI data centers helped drive deep-red counties away from Republicans in the 2026 midterms, warning that proposed projects could fuel more backlash in GOP strongholds. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! FIRST ON FOX: A new analysis from a conservative AI safety group found that deep-red counties with large data centers or proposed projects shifted further toward Democrats in last week's midterm elections than comparable counties without such projects. Humans First’s analysis, obtained , examined public election returns and data-center project records in 1,540 counties across 16 states. The memo used several comparisons to measure what the group describes as a "data center penalty." Across all counties examined, those hosting large data centers shifted an additional 2.2 percentage points toward Democrats compared with non-host counties in the same states. The pattern appeared in 14 of the 16 states and 25 of the 27 governor and Senate races examined. Restricting the analysis to deep-red counties — those President Donald Trump won 20 points in 2024 — produced a 2.1-point raw gap between counties hosting large data centers and comparable counties without projects. Among deep-red counties with projects still in the proposal stage, the gap was 1.1 percentage points after accounting for past voting patterns, rural or urban status, population size, racial and ethnic makeup and recent voting trends. TEA PARTY FOUNDER LAUNCHES NATIONWIDE 'DATA CENTER REVOLT' AGAINST AI DATA CENTER EXPANSION Humans First’s analysis examined public election returns and data center project records in 1,540 counties across 16 states. (Nathan Howard/) The group identified 114 proposed large data center projects across 92 deep-red counties, potentially setting up more local fights. The memo found that Republican vote totals fell an additional 1.1% in deep-red host counties compared with comparable counties without large data centers, while Democratic vote totals showed no significant change. The memo cautioned that its findings show an association rather than proof that data centers caused voters to change their behavior. County-level results also cannot determine whether Republicans switched their votes or simply stayed home. "Our analysis looked at how counties with data centers voted and how those counties moved to the left," Humans First Chairwoman Amy Kremer told Fox News Digital. "I think this happened for the reason I’ve been warning conservatives and Republicans about for some time: People engage politically when issues affect them personally. There’s nothing more personal than your pocketbook, your health care, your kids and family, your home and your community.