Welcome back to Power Play! Each week, senior writer Molly Taft tackles a topic around this midterm season’s biggest issue: data centers. If you’ve got a question or thought for the column, feel free to shoot Molly an email at [email protected] or reach them securely on Signal at mollytaft.76.
\n\nFrom surveillance and DOGE to Big Tech money and religious extremism, the midterms have never been more WIRED. Data centers are no exception: The public has rapidly turned on them since the beginning of the year.
\n\nThe opposition is bipartisan, with many Republicans making a rare break from President Donald Trump. Candidates on both sides of the aisle are trying to attack their opponents for being pro–data center (or not anti–data center enough). I’ve spotted at least five candidates who have been given the derogatory “Data Center [Name]” moniker by their opponents, in an attempt to highlight their connections to the industry. (That includes two guys named Derek/Derrick getting this treatment.)
\n\nWhile polling shows that pocketbook issues are likely to be top of voters’ minds, data centers are a potent-enough issue that they could swing tight races—and ultimately tip the balance of power in Congress. Here are some of the…
Original source: https://www.wired.com/