Could local concerns over AI data centers and infrastructure quietly decide the outcome of this massive statewide race?

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Yes. In a race this close, local backlash over AI data centers and the strain they may put on water, electricity and household costs could be decisive at the margins. The evidence is strong that this is no longer a niche issue. University of Texas/Texas Politics Project polling found a clear majority of Texans opposed new data centers in their own communities, with opposition especially intense in rural areas, suburbs and among women. Those are important blocs in a statewide contest likely to be decided by turnout and small shifts among independents and soft partisans. What makes the issue potent is that it overlaps with the broader concerns already driving the race: affordability, grid reliability and distrust of large outside interests. Texans are worried about rising power bills, water use, noise, land impacts and whether tax incentives and grid costs are being shifted onto residents. That gives the issue emotional force beyond technology policy. Both campaigns appear to recognize the danger. Talarico has pushed local veto power, tighter standards and an end to subsidies. Paxton, after initially lacking a clear public position, has rolled out a “Texas first” plan, backed Abbott’s tougher stance and launched investigations into data-center water reporting. That suggests Republicans see a real vulnerability. Still, data centers are unlikely to replace inflation and the economy as the top issue statewide. More plausibly, they act as a multiplier: in exurban and rural countie…

Ken Paxton Launches Statewide Bus Tour in Tight Texas Senate Race

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Ken Paxton Launches Statewide Bus Tour in Tight Texas Senate Race

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