Voters in Texas agree: They hate data centers

Some are even mad enough to vote for Democrats.

by Justine Calma

Oct 28, 2026, 12:00 PM UTC

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Justine Calma is a senior science reporter covering energy and the environment with more than a decade of experience. She is also the host of Hell or High Water: When Disaster Hits Home, a podcast from Vox Media and Audible Originals.

Ask Texas NAACP president Gary Bledsoe what it’s been like to see data center developers descend upon Austin and its surrounding suburbs and he can rattle off project after project facing opposition from locals.

There’s the fight in Taylor over plans to build a data center at a site that’s supposed to be a park. Temple, around 40 miles away, is another sore spot, Bledsoe says. The mayor and City Council members there face recallattemptsover data center developments. And some...

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