Texas Democrats see data centers as a winning issue

Rural Texas voters have overwhelmingly backed Republicans for decades, but this year Democrats are hoping that voter opposition to data centers could give them a chance to unseat the Republican governor.

The Democratic candidate in that race, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, has made opposition to data center construction a central part of her race against Gov. Greg Abbott. That race has become competitive for a state that hasn't elected a Democratic governor since Ann Richards in 1990. ABC News ranks the race as Lean Republican.

Hinojosa told ABC she didn't expect this issue to be so central to her campaign "but the thing about the data centers is it's a physical manifestation of a government, a governor during doing the bidding of the moneyed interests and leaving the people to fend for themselves ... it's also told the story of a larger problem in Texas."

Hinojosa supports a moratorium on new construction, stricter regulations on water and power usage and an end to tax breaks.

She has criticized Abbott for signing tax breaks for data centers and promoting the industry's growth. Abbott once said he wanted Texas to be the "epicenter" of the industry.

Hinojosa says that she has gained support with rural Republican voters who have lost faith in the governor on the issue.

Several rural counties in Texas have sued to stop data center construction, citing concerns about pollution, water usage, and loss of family farmland.

An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted earlier this month found that in 69% of Texans oppose new data center construction in their communities.

For his part, Abbott announced a moratorium on new data center construction in rural communities in September and said he supports more stringent requirements on power and water use by the centers. He told ABC News, "When rural Texans know the detailed strategy that I have, they are coming to my side."

Republican Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, who lost his re-election bid to a challenger backed by Abbott, called those promises from the governor "smoke and mirrors."

He said that voter voters' attitudes about data centers "will cost [Abbott] support because he's wrong on the issue. He's not listening to the people. He's listening to his donors."

Abbott press secretary Eduardo Leal told ABC News, "Governor Abbott has the strongest data center guardrails in the country. Sid Miller is a sore loser and has no idea what he's talking about."

Miller says he will not vote for Abbott or Nate Sheets, the Republican who beat him in the primary for agriculture commissioner. He cites policy on data centers as one of the reasons.

When asked if he planned to vote for the Democrats in those races, Miller said, "That's between me and God, and it's going to stay that way."

Another lifelong Republican told ABC News he planned to cast his first vote for a Democrat this year because of his stance on data centers.

Daniel McCoslin, a Marine Corps veteran living in Centerville in southeastern Texas, says a planned data center near his family's farm mobilized him to vote against Abbott, saying, "He needs to go."

He described his decision to switch his vote as a tough one saying, "I ate the cat turd instead of the dog turd."

One Republican warned that the backlash over data centers might be an overreaction that could hurt rural communities.

Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian, who serves on the body that regulates Texas' energy industry and is not up for re-election this year, argues that data centers provide jobs and revenue to parts of the state that are struggling, saying, "rural Texas is in trouble ... The money is moving out, and the population is going down."

Christian blames the voter backlash on outside sources like China and Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders, saying that Texans have "been lied to. They've been told half-truths, or they've been told only the problems."

But even he admits this is the issue that could decide the midterms for his party: "The entire swing vote is rural Texas."