A Wisconsin town recently passed a first-of-its-kind referendum blocking future data center construction, one of several similar efforts appearing on ballots at the local and state level during this year’s midterm elections. These fights come as data centers, a major part of President Donald Trump’s AI agenda, come under increased scrutiny from voters raising concerns about their energy and environmental costs. POLITICO’s Tyler Katzenberger breaks down the lessons from this recent Wisconsin election and what these efforts could mean for the future of the U.S. power grid and AI expansion.

Tyler Katzenberger is a Sacramento technology reporter for POLITICO.

Nirmal Mulaikal is the co-host and executive producer of POLITICO Energy.

Matt Daily is the energy editor for POLITICO.

Cyril Zaneski is executive editor of POLITICO’s E&E News.

Debra Kahn is the editorial director for energy and environmental coverage at POLITICO.

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The data center boom is running into local resistance