AI Data Center Backlash Is Being Politically Weaponized: Will Midterms Tip the Scales?

The AI trade's biggest near-term risk may not be earnings but politics. Alger's Ankur Crawford warns data center backlash could become a defining midterm issue.

Crawford, executive vice president and portfolio manager at Alger, made the comments on CNBC's "Closing Bell."

Data centers become a midterm flashpoint

Crawford said the fight over data centers could become what she called a "kill the AI" moment. She spoke hours before Nvidia (NVDA) posted Q2 results that sparked a 4% stock reversal.

Data centers, the massive facilities powering AI compute, have become an unusual bipartisan target. Ads in Texas, Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania now blame both parties for rising electricity bills tied to their construction.

Crawford argued much of the criticism lacks evidence. She called water and noise complaints "FUD," industry shorthand for fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Electricity strain is real, she said, but mainly emerges later this decade.

That distinction matters little to voters. Polling cited by Brookings found concerns over electricity rates, water use, and jobs cutting across party lines. Newsweek reported all six Senate toss-up races, per the Cook Political Report, touch the data center debate.

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