25% Want Feds Deciding Regulations on Data Centers

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  • Whether voters are for or against data centers, just 25% think the federal government should be deciding on regulations and licensing.
    • Two thirds (67%) want decisions made by either the state government (37%) or local governments (30%).
  • When informed about the simple functions of a data center, 49% favor one being built in their community, while 40% disagree.
    • These numbers include 16% who Strongly Favor the idea and 22% who Strongly Oppose it.
    • Six in 10 Republicans (60%) favor building a data center in their community.
    • Democrats are more divided: 39% favor the idea, while 49% oppose it and 11% are not sure.
  • However, voters are evenly divided about who they would vote for if one candidate opposed new data centers and one wanted to build them.
    • Forty-two percent (42%) of voters say they would vote for the candidate who wanted to build them on the grounds that they would boost employment and tax revenue.
    • Forty-one percent (41%) would choose a candidate who opposed new data centers because of concerns about the amount of energy and water it would use.
    • The breakdowns fall along party lines: Republicans would choose the candidate who supported new data centers, and Democrats would vote for the candidate who opposed them.
    • A solid plurality (71%) say a candidate’s views on data centers are at least Somewhat Important to how they will vote, while 26% consider it Very Important.
  • Voters are skeptical of Elon Musk’s claim that many data centers will be built in space in the next few years. A plurality (45%) say it is not likely to happen in the next 10 years.
    • Slightly less (42%) say it is at least Somewhat Likely.
    • Again, the parties are mirror images: about half (47%) of Republicans say it is likely, while about half (49%) of Democrats say it is not.

This data is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen, May 5-6, 2026. RMG Research, Inc., conducted the field work for the survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.