by Patti Johnson, American Policy Center, ©2026
(May 18, 2026) — Political Backlash
Alarm bells are sounding across the USA on one of the hottest bipartisan issues of the 2026 elections: AI data centers. Voters from both parties are united in their opposition, and many are heading to the polls with this question front and center: Will this candidate actually protect and represent us, or sell out to Big Tech and its massive AI data centers? In Florida, this growing backlash is hitting especially hard, as residents watch Rep. Byron Donalds’ gubernatorial campaign get flooded with millions from AI billionaires eager to turn the Sunshine State into their next profit playground at the expense of our water, air, power bills, and quality way of life.
Byron Donalds: Florida’s Next Governor or Silicon Valley’s Water Boy?
As a Florida resident deeply opposed to the unchecked invasion of AI data centers in our state, I see Rep. Byron Donalds’ gubernatorial campaign for what it is: a direct threat to our quality of life. While Donalds touts himself as a leader backed by President Trump, his biggest new supporters aren’t everyday Floridians. They are billionaire AI titans pouring millions into his race to turn Florida into their next profit playground.
A pro-AI super PAC called Leading the Future, funded by heavy hitters like OpenAI President and co-founder Greg Brockman and the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, has pledged about $5 million to boost Donalds’ bid for governor. This marks the group’s first big push into a state race. Their strategist claims Donalds “gets” the economic upside of AI. But what about the real costs that Floridians will bear? [1] [2] [3]
These massive AI data centers are resource-devouring behemoths that drain watersheds, spike electric bills, pollute the air, generate sickening noise, and destroy communities. One large facility can suck up to 5 million gallons of water per day for cooling, enough for a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Nationwide, AI-related data centers could consume up to 32 billion gallons annually by 2028. In water-stressed Florida, with our aquifers already under pressure and springs at risk, this would be catastrophic. [4] [5]
Rural communities across America also deserve fierce protection from this invasion
Some claim that placing these centers in rural areas, forests, and farmland would solve the problems by keeping them away from cities where complaints are increasing. I live in the country precisely to escape industry and overdevelopment. I do not want these facilities anywhere near my farm, draining my watershed, polluting my air, or blasting noise that makes people and animals sick. Even if promoters swear electric bills will not rise or watersheds will stay safe during droughts, those are empty promises. These centers would destroy our beautiful countryside, turning peaceful rural landscapes into industrial wastelands with no regard for the people who call them home. [6]
The constant sound you hear living one half mile from an AI Data Center: https://x.com/conspiracyb0t/status/2053563881252069521?s=20
We chose country life for its clean air, quiet nights, productive farmland, and natural beauty, not to become dumping grounds for Silicon Valley’s greed. Data centers pave over hundreds of acres of prime farmland with concrete and steel, erasing agricultural land forever while offering minimal local jobs. In rural Georgia, a Meta facility left residents hauling water in buckets because their wells filled with sediment and turned undrinkable. Northern Virginia’s rural expanses have lost thousands of acres, with constant generator exhaust worsening asthma and heart issues. In Texas and Arizona, rural families endure jet-engine noise causing insomnia, vertigo, migraines, and plummeting property values as profits flow out of state. Florida’s rural areas must not suffer the same fate. We need ironclad protection to keep these thirsty, noisy polluters out of our countryside entirely.
Read the rest here.
Byron Donalds visited my house when he was first running for Congress. He did not know why Congresswoman AOC suddenly stopped complaining about “not being able to afford an apartment in DC”. I explained how the DC system worked- that after he was sworn in, he would probably be guided on setting up a charity for his wife (she is white) to run and she will be offered positions on boards, too. Being a FL resident, if he gets elected Gov, I will be moving.
We need an intelligent, problem-solving Gov, who won’t sell out the worker’s needs to outside interests and I feel that this man is not going to cut it.
I did not read this article past the headline.
As far as I am concerned, AI (Artificial Intelligence), must be renamed AH (Abolishing Humanity). It is truly the work of the devil.
Thank you for allowing me to voice my concerns on this website.