RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Newsweek — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 2 sources
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Texas Democratic Senate hopeful Representative James Talarico took a shot at his opponent on Monday, accusing Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton of using AI to illustrate a plan to address data centers if he wins in November.
Data centers have become a political flashpoint heading into the midterms , with Americans across the party spectrum raising concerns about their construction and impact on local communities, including the potential drain on water and power supplies. Candidates have scrambled to take a stand against the facilities , including some Republicans, despite President Donald Trump continuing to express support for their development.
Paxton shared a data center plan on X on Monday, immediately garnering responses from a number of people accusing him of using AI to create it.
Talarico's campaign responded by issuing a statement saying Paxton had failed to respond to what voters want.
“Ken Paxton has taken nearly half a million dollars from the data center industry, voted to flood Texas with data centers by giving them billions in tax handouts, and has refused to use his power as attorney general to respond to Texans' requests to block data center development in their communities," Talarico said in a statement shared to X by his campaign.
"Now he’s scared his ties to big data center companies will lose him the election, so he’s making a sad attempt to reverse course by releasing a plan he literally used AI to make. Texans can’t afford a Senator who’s bought by big data center companies. Texans can’t afford Ken Paxton’s corruption.”
Newsweek reached out to Paxton's campaign for comment Monday afternoon.
Paxton said in his post on X that his plan put Texas first.
"My Texas First Data Center Plan will protect our grid, our communities, and our children while ensuring America beats Communist China in the AI race," he said.
The plan calls for federal legislation barring the use of Chinese technology in American data center infrastructure and proposes holding data center operators criminally liable if AI systems powered by their facilities are found to endanger children's safety.
The proposal also calls for an embrace of a deregulatory approach at the federal level. Paxton says he would co-sponsor the DATA Act, legislation he argues would reduce regulatory barriers, expand power generation and help ensure that data centers do not drive up electricity costs for Texas consumers. The campaign says the measure would streamline permitting and modernize federal rules governing the fast-growing industry.
At the state level, Paxton pledges to support Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott's efforts to tighten oversight of new data center projects.
Among the proposals highlighted in the plan are restricting AI-focused data centers in rural residential areas, requiring operators to adopt measures that reduce noise, light pollution and traffic impacts, and improving coordination during periods of grid stress.
The plan also backs repealing certain tax exemptions and incentives for data centers while requiring facilities to pay for the electricity infrastructure they need, contribute additional generating capacity to the Texas grid and use closed-loop water cooling systems.
Across Texas and several battleground states, candidates from both parties are responding to voter concerns about whether the AI boom is driving up electricity costs, straining water supplies, transforming rural communities and yielding major tax incentives for some of the world's biggest technology companies.
In Texas, the debate has drawn significant attention because the state has aggressively courted data center development for years.
Critics argue that large facilities could place additional pressure on the electric grid, consume significant amounts of water and alter rural landscapes. Supporters maintain that the projects bring jobs, investment and technological leadership. In response, Abbott has pushed new oversight measures and audits for proposed projects, while lawmakers have held hearings drawing large numbers of residents expressing concerns about noise, light pollution, electricity demand and local control.
Several elements of Paxton's plan include requiring data centers to bear more of their own infrastructure costs, repealing tax incentives and restricting development near rural neighborhoods, directly addressing the concerns that have fueled opposition campaigns around the state.
But Paxton balances that with support for continued industry growth through streamlining federal regulations and expanding energy infrastructure.
Critics, including allies of Talarico, argue that many Republicans who are now calling for tougher oversight previously supported policies that encouraged data center expansion through tax incentives and other pro-development measures. The political fight is increasingly centered not on whether data centers should exist, but on who is responsible for their rapid growth and who can most credibly claim to be protecting communities from the consequences.
Texas is a key battleground in the midterms, becoming a Democratic target as Talarico has polled ahead of Paxton in a number of surveys.
The state has not elected a Democrat to a statewide office since 1994, but Talarico has surged and Paxton won a messy primary to oust incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn. It is a key state of Democrats that hope to flip the majority in the upper chamber.
Cook Political Report and Fox News have recently moved the state into the "tossup" category, while The Sabato Crystal Ball ranks it as "leans Republican." Trump has easily won the state three times.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Gabe Whisnant and Geoffrey Rowland .
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.