DCCC targets GOP on AI and data centers in 31 of 69 key House races

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the House Democrats' official campaign arm, wants ads on artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers in almost half of the races it is targeting, according to a report shared first with The Hill ¹. The report comes from the Tech Oversight Project ¹.

Thirty-one of the DCCC's 69 "redboxes" mention the issue ¹. Redboxes are documents that lay out possible messaging in key races. The 31 cite GOP candidates' past support for data center tax incentives and money from developers of the facilities ¹.

Which Republicans are named

The DCCC is highlighting data centers against Republican Reps. Eli Crane of Arizona, Bill Huizenga of Michigan, Bryan Steil of Wisconsin and Mike Lawler of New York ¹.

For Huizenga, the DCCC suggests voters should see "aggressive, hard-hitting ads" in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, media market about his support for "unleashing data centers across Michigan" ¹. For Steil, it suggests mail in the Madison area about support he has received from political action committees (PACs) tied to data center developers ¹.

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Some candidates have already picked this up. Montana Democrat Sam Forstag took aim at Republican Aaron Flint in an ad targeting his record on both AI and data centers ¹.

A bipartisan issue, with a fight over who owns it

Tech issues rarely drive elections, but The Hill reports that Americans are growing wary of the rush to build data centers for AI ¹. A June Reuters/Ipsos poll found 77% of Americans are concerned about data centers raising electricity costs ².

Republicans are not sitting this out. NPR, citing AdImpact data, found that campaigns and outside groups spent more than $45 million on ads mentioning data centers since January ². Over $22 million supported Republicans and more than $21 million supported Democrats ².

Democrats ran 127 such ads to Republicans' 67, and spread them across more states and races ². Florida Republican Byron Donalds, for one, has had a PAC pay over $2.5 million for an ad about protecting families from data centers ².

A Republican Party operative, speaking on condition of anonymity, told NPR the party is not commenting publicly on data centers because the views within the party vary ². The National Republican Senatorial Committee's internal memo called data centers a "sleeper issue for the entire election cycle" ².

What happens next

Election Day is Nov. 3. Haworth said Democrats who win control of Congress should investigate Big Tech and roll back what she called handouts and giveaways ¹.

That matters because the fight is about who pays. The DCCC's argument is that Republicans backed tax breaks and took developer money while families face the cost of new power demand. Republican candidates are making their own promises to protect ratepayers, so voters may hear both parties claim the issue ².

The Record

1. Sep 5, 2026NPR reports more than $45 million spent on data center ads since January, split almost evenly between the parties ².
2. Oct 27, 2026Tech Oversight Project report says 31 of the DCCC's 69 redboxes mention data centers or AI ¹.

Sources

1. The Hill, “DCCC pushes for ads targeting GOP on AI, data centers in dozens of key House races” (2026-10-27). thehill.com/policy/technology/6175681-dccc-targets-gop-ai-da
2. NPR (via OPB), “Voters are fed up with data centers. Both parties are trying to cash in for midterms” (2026-09-05). opb.org/article/2026/09/05/data-centers-have-republicans-and

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