# AI Billionaires Are Spending Millions to Change Your Mind About Data Centers > Source: > Published: 2026-09-02 07:41:40+00:00 Opposition to local [data centers](https://www.gadgetreview.com/your-power-company-can-seize-your-land-for-ai-data-centers-heres-how-to-fight-back) jumped from **49% to 61%** in just four months, according to the ** Annenberg Public Policy Center**. That shift represents a fast-moving, bipartisan wall of public resistance — and it’s closing in on the **$700 billion** in planned AI infrastructure spending that depends on communities saying yes. This is not a niche zoning dispute confined to rural county commissions. It is a live midterm election issue, and Silicon Valley just decided to fight back. ## Who’s Behind the Campaign – and Why Now *A coalition of AI-industry billionaires is pouring millions into swing-state ads because the alternative is watching billions in projects get killed at the local level.* The vehicle is **Build American AI**, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit tied to the pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future, which launched with roughly **$140 million** in the bank. [Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/07/26/ai-super-pac-operatives-profile-01008227) contributed around **$50 million** combined through Andreessen Horowitz; [OpenAI president](https://www.gadgetreview.com/openai-secretly-funded-child-safety-coalition-pushing-ai-age-laws) Greg Brockman matched that figure. The initial ad targets are [Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin](https://www.axios.com/2026/08/31/ai-advocacy-group-data-center-battleground-states) — states where data center opposition is already shaping Senate and gubernatorial races, not just planning commission meetings. The campaign’s playbook: - Budget described as “in the millions”; group holds approximately $50M cash on hand - Target states: Kansas, Ohio, Wisconsin — all active electoral battlegrounds - Tactics: paid ads, grassroots organizing, earned media, public education, candidate backing - A new political organization, “Building the Future,” launching alongside to support pro-AI candidates - Plans to expand into additional states ahead of 2026 midterms and 2027 state legislative sessions “Driving responsible investment away will cost Americans [good-paying jobs](https://www.gadgetreview.com/meta-builds-its-own-skilled-trades-army-with-115-million-job-guarantee), weaken communities and undermine America’s ability to lead.” — [Build American AI statement](https://www.briefs.co/news/pro-ai-group-launches-multimillion-dollar-ads-to-counter-dat/) ## The Numbers They’re Fighting *With 61% of Americans opposed and the NRSC calling the issue “toxic,” this ad campaign is less a victory lap and more a structural repair job.* The polling is stark. Annenberg puts local opposition at 61%, with only **14%** in support. [Reuters/Ipsos found 57%](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/americans-wary-ai-driven-data-center-boom-reutersipsos-poll-shows-2026-06-11/) would oppose a data center in their community. Other compiled polling, summarized by political and industry analysts, shows figures reaching as high as **75%** opposed to a nearby facility. Crucially, opposition cuts across party lines — majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents are all against. It is, improbably, one of the few truly bipartisan issues in American politics right now. The ** National Republican Senatorial Committee** privately warned that data center support has become “toxic” for politicians. The stakes beyond the ad spend are concrete. In Q1 2026, local opposition blocked or delayed [ 75 data center projects](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/data-center-backlash-signals-a-fight-over-ai-power/) worth an estimated **$130 billion**, according to a Brookings analysis. New York enacted a moratorium on hyperscale facilities. Texas imposed an effective freeze. Trump’s public response — “Let Data Reign” — captures the industry’s all-or-nothing posture. Whether a multimillion-dollar messaging campaign can move voters faster than opposition is moving polls remains the open question. When AI’s physical footprint — [electric bills](https://www.gadgetreview.com/oregon-makes-data-centers-pay-their-own-electric-bills), water use, noise, land — lands in someone’s backyard, abstract arguments about national competitiveness get very specific very fast. The industry spent decades selling software. Selling server farms to skeptical neighbors is a fundamentally different pitch.