Campaigns and outside groups have spent $173 million on almost entirely negative ads about data centers during this year’s general election, according to AdImpact data reported by Axios on 31 October. Democrats spent $140 million of it, about 81%, by our arithmetic, against $28 million from Republicans and $5 million from independents.
About $95 million, or about 55% of the total by our arithmetic, ran in four Rust Belt states: Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Axios reported that AdImpact could not identify any commercial that made an overtly positive case for data centers.
Short explainer · Data center ads hit $173M
A vertical news Short summarising this story with related coverage. Figures come from AdImpact and SemiAnalysis data reported by Axios; our arithmetic is labelled.
Business Pill · Grid Cost Allocation Explained
An evergreen Business Engineer explainer on who pays for grid upgrades. It teaches the general idea only and does not discuss these reports or the survey.
The key insight: Campaigns have spent $173 million on almost entirely negative data center ads in this general election, per AdImpact via Axios; Democrats paid about 81% and four Rust Belt states took about 55%, by our arithmetic.
Axios reported that Democrats in Ohio have spent nearly $28 million on data center ads, while Republicans there have spent zero. That one state’s Democratic spending roughly equals all Republican data center ad spending nationally, by our arithmetic.
Texas has seen over $11 million of data center ads, the fifth-most in the country, per Axios. It has the largest number of planned data centers in the country, according to market intelligence company Cleanview, cited by Axios.
Pennsylvania has 16 data centers in operation and 273 planned, the third-highest number planned after Texas and Virginia, per Cleanview via Axios. That is about 17 planned for every operating one, by our arithmetic; in Ohio, with 80 operating and 140 planned, the ratio is 1.75.
Over $4 million has been spent on ads in a state legislative race in the Philadelphia suburbs, Axios reported, rivaling the total in some of the top gubernatorial and Senate contests. Democrats and Republicans have spent about the same in that race.
General-election ad spending on data centers in 2026 by payer and by region, from AdImpact data reported by Axios on 31 October 2026. Shares are FourWeekMBA arithmetic; the regional split is rounded.
The Build-Out Has Not Slowed
A second Axios report the same day counted more than 300 local moratoriums, citing a survey of data center moratoria by Michael Bommarito. It said U.S. data center development is still moving at a blistering pace.
The industry may add more than 50 gigawatts of capacity in 2027, according to research firm SemiAnalysis, cited by Axios. Construction on nearly half of that capacity is at an advanced stage, and developers have signed $1 trillion in leases to support the expansion, SemiAnalysis says.
Axios listed delays: an audit ordered by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is adding months for projects seeking to connect to the state grid, and a New York executive order pausing environmental permits for larger facilities has delayed nearly 1 gigawatt of capacity, according to SemiAnalysis. In New Mexico, Oracle took steps to protect itself from costs tied to delays of the $165 billion Project Jupiter.
The Business Lever: Local Consent as a Siting Cost
By the Axios figures, about 55% of the spending ran in four Rust Belt states and over $11 million in Texas, the state with the most planned data centers per Cleanview. For developers and the companies leasing their capacity, those are also places where projects need local permits and grid connections. Axios wrote that the geography of today’s backlash could help shape the battlegrounds of the 2028 presidential election.
Axios’s second report concluded that local opposition and regulatory scrutiny “are creating isolated bottlenecks, but they have yet to derail the broader infrastructure boom”.
The Structural Read
As we read the AdImpact figures reported by Axios, Ohio Democrats’ nearly $28 million roughly equals all Republican data center ad spending nationally.
As we read the Cleanview counts cited by Axios, Pennsylvania has about 17 planned data centers for every operating one, against 1.75 in Ohio, by our arithmetic.
As we read the second Axios report, more than 300 local moratoriums sit alongside SemiAnalysis’s estimate that more than 50 gigawatts may be added in 2027.
Axios, 31 October 2026
“Local opposition and mounting regulatory scrutiny are creating isolated bottlenecks, but they have yet to derail the broader infrastructure boom.”
Three Implications
FOR DEVELOPERS Axios reported that a New York executive order pausing environmental permits for larger facilities has delayed nearly 1 gigawatt of capacity, according to SemiAnalysis.
FOR CAMPAIGNS Axios reported that AdImpact could not identify any commercial that made an overtly positive case for data centers.
FOR INVESTORS SemiAnalysis says developers have signed $1 trillion in leases to support the expansion, per Axios.
The framework says “The structural bottleneck isn’t computing, it’s electrons.”
As we read it, this week’s Axios reports describe a second constraint beside electricity: local consent, which $173 million of ads and more than 300 moratoriums are contesting. The framework is the owner’s argument and does not discuss these reports.
The reports do not give AdImpact’s definition of a data center ad or its start date, so this total is not comparable with earlier counts. Axios does not say how much of the spending targets specific projects rather than candidates. The 50-gigawatt and $1 trillion figures are SemiAnalysis estimates as reported by Axios; we have not read SemiAnalysis’s underlying research.
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Ads against data centers reached $173 million in this year’s general election, per AdImpact via Axios, with Democrats paying about 81% and four Rust Belt states taking about 55%, by our arithmetic. Separately, SemiAnalysis estimates, per Axios, that more than 50 gigawatts of U.S. capacity may be added in 2027, with $1 trillion of leases signed.
A note on sourcing. All facts and figures come from two Axios reports of 31 October 2026, which cite AdImpact, Cleanview, SemiAnalysis and a survey by Michael Bommarito; we have not read those underlying datasets. Shares and ratios are our arithmetic. We did not contact the campaigns or companies.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
