New Polls Show Data Centers Issue is Toxic

AUSTIN, TX — A new University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll released Tuesday confirms what has become increasingly clear this summer: data centers remain a toxic political issue with Texas voters.

In the August survey of 1,200 registered voters (conducted August 5–13, margin of error ±2.83%), 57% said they oppose construction of a data center in their community, including 41% who strongly oppose it. Only 30% support the idea. Fourteen percent had no opinion. Net opposition sits at –27 points—statistically unchanged from the June poll that first quantified the backlash (56% oppose, 29% support).

The numbers cut across key political and geographic lines in ways that continue to scramble traditional alignments.

Republicans remain closely divided (45% support, 43% oppose). Democrats are overwhelmingly against local projects (15% support, 75% oppose, with 59% strongly opposed). Independents also lean heavily negative (19% support, 54% oppose).

Rural and suburban Texans show the sharpest resistance. Both groups register 60% opposition and just 25–26% support. Urban areas are less lopsided but still net negative.

Quality-of-life concerns reinforce the opposition. Fifty-five percent of respondents said data centers have a negative impact on people’s quality of life nearby, including 41% who called it a “large negative impact.” Only 22% saw a positive effect. Expected impacts on the natural environment, water supply reliability, local energy bills, and electric grid reliability all register clear net negatives.

Views of artificial intelligence itself remain underwater as well, with 46% expecting a negative economic impact versus 32% expecting a positive one.

These findings sit alongside earlier Texas and national polling that paint a consistent picture of public skepticism. A Cygnal survey of likely voters in late July found 82% support for Gov. Greg Abbott’s requirement that data centers pay for their own electric infrastructure. This is evidence that voters want guardrails and cost protections far more than an open invitation. National surveys, including Gallup’s finding that 71% of Americans oppose an AI data center in their local area, show the same pattern of strong local resistance driven by energy costs, water use, and community impacts.

The political response has followed the data. Abbott has ordered audits, paused certain project approvals, and directed regulators to keep costs off ratepayers. Candidates in competitive statewide races have scrambled to address the issue as rural and suburban discontent has grown into a measurable electoral risk.

The August University of Texas/Texas Politics Project results show the opposition has not softened. For now, data centers remain underwater with Texas voters.