When Gina Hinojosa launched her campaign for Texas governor last year, AI data centers were nowhere on the political agenda. Now, with less than three months before November's election, the rapid spread of energy-intensive server facilities across rural Texas has emerged as a potentially defining issue in her long-shot bid to unseat Republican Gov. Greg Abbott — one that is fracturing conservative strongholds that have long counterbalanced Democratic dominance in the state's cities.

The uproar over power-hungry data centers is reverberating far beyond Texas, shaping statewide campaigns from Arizona to Ohio to New York. In a state where Republicans have held power for three decades, the issue is offering Democrats an unexpected opening.

"There is this little issue that I recently started hearing about that I wanted to tell you about, in case you don't know," Hinojosa told a crowd of roughly 160 people gathered on fold-out chairs at an Amarillo social club in the Texas Panhandle, at an event organized by the Democratic Party. "It's this issue of data centers."

The crowd booed. She continued: "They are owned by the richest men in the world. We're all footing the bill. There are no rules. It is the wild west of data centers."

The explosive expansion of massive data centers has already disrupted local elections nationwide, frequently uniting conservatives and progressives in opposition to projects in their communities. Residents cite concerns over secrecy, air and noise pollution, water contamination, light pollution, rising electricity bills, drying wells, and the loss of open space, farmland, and forest.

The buildout is being driven by a surge in generative AI adoption, which requires vastly more computing power than traditional internet services. Tech companies are racing to add capacity, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into infrastructure that only a few years ago would have seemed implausible.

Now those tensions have reached the top of the ticket, with incumbents and challengers alike scrambling to respond to an energized electorate.

In Ohio, Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown ran a television advertisement branding Republican U.S. Sen. John Husted as the "face of data centers in Ohio," even as activists collect signatures for a statewide referendum that would ban data center construction outright.

In Wisconsin, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong is campaigning on a pledge to "tax the rich, fund our schools and stop AI data centers" in a crowded primary field.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro is drawing criticism from voters who believe he has been too accommodating to tech giants. Sam Burleigh, a Democrat from a rural community resisting data center development, accused Shapiro of "allowing these data centers to come in and take over acres and acres of prime farmland."

The political fallout may be most acute in Texas.

According to a report by commercial real estate firm JLL, Texas is on track to surpass northern Virginia as the world's largest data center market by 2030. Northern Virginia, home to the concentration of server farms known as Data Center Alley in Loudoun County, has held that distinction for over a decade. The state offers abundant land, vast energy resources, and a business-friendly regulatory climate under Republican leadership.

In rural West Texas and the Panhandle, enormous data centers are under construction — including one near Amarillo billed as the world's largest. Some are designed with natural gas-fired turbines to meet their power demands. Rumors of additional projects are circulating widely. Google, which is currently building four data centers in northwest Texas, recently sponsored moderated discussions with officials and business leaders in Lubbock and Amarillo, fueling anxiety across small cities, rural towns, and sprawling ranches in overwhelmingly Republican areas.

Google has stated that its investments advance American innovation, strengthen cybersecurity, and expand energy capacity. President Donald Trump has likewise made data center expansion a national priority as part of the broader U.S. effort to compete with China for AI supremacy.

Critics, however, contend that tech giants and developers operate with excessive secrecy, leaving communities unable to assess what will be built or what environmental impact it will carry. Some fear the facilities will erode rural Texas's low cost of living and degrade the sweeping landscapes that define the region. Others report that construction and the influx of temporary workers are already disrupting ranching communities — driving up rents, consuming farmland, lighting up night skies, congesting roads, and transforming quiet rural areas into industrial corridors.

Democrats are among the most vocal critics, but prominent Republicans are joining them — including Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. Many more Republicans remain privately opposed but fear reprisal for crossing their governor and party.

"They're upset with Greg Abbott," said Suzanne Bellsnyder, a former Republican activist from Spearman who writes a syndicated column advocating for rural Texas. "Whether that translates into voting against him, I don't know."

Abbott has been an aggressive champion of large-scale projects in Texas. In November, he helped announce Google's $40 billion investment in the state, declaring, "Texas is the epicenter of AI development."

Compounding the tension, Texas counties lack zoning authority — the very tool that communities across the country are increasingly using to push back against unwanted data center developments. A growing number of municipalities and states have adopted moratoriums, noise ordinances, or setback requirements, leaving Texas communities with fewer levers than counterparts in other fast-growing markets.

Abbott appears aware that the issue is splitting his political base. In recent weeks, he directed regulators to take steps ensuring that Texans do not face higher electricity bills due to data centers, and he pledged to pursue a legislative agenda next year imposing new regulations on the industry. At a campaign event in East Texas, Abbott said his plan includes eliminating the state's billion-dollar-plus annual tax break for data centers and preventing construction in "rural Texas neighborhoods."

Hinojosa and other critics dismissed Abbott's remarks as hollow. "Doublespeak that makes no sense to anyone," Hinojosa said, arguing the governor's response lacks urgency or seriousness.

"Now we have this gold rush of data centers in our communities," Hinojosa said in an interview. "People want a say, and I think that's fair." She pledged that, as governor, she would block permits for data centers that fail to offer a good deal for Texans or that bypass community input.

Abbott's mid-campaign shift does not appear to have eased public concern. A particularly fraught issue is water: data centers consume enormous volumes, and ranchers and farmers worry the facilities will worsen drought conditions in a state where water shortages have already devastated the sugar cane industry.

"Oh, I guarantee you, it's on everybody's mind," said Giles Dalby, a cattle rancher and Republican county commissioner in West Texas. Dalby, who raises Angus and Brangus cattle on land his family has worked for 125 years, pointed to fast-growing cities where water authorities have had to go to extraordinary lengths to secure supply — including the "water wars" between San Antonio and ranchers several years ago. He warned that Texas is increasingly overriding landowner rights in its pursuit of public water, and that data centers could end up ahead of ranchers in line when shortages or rationing intensify.

Clayton Tucker, a rancher and the Democratic nominee for state agriculture commissioner, said data centers dominate conversation at his campaign events, regardless of his audience's political affiliation.

"This is the most cross-partisan issue I've ever seen in my life," Tucker said.

Grassroots opposition groups are forming, including one in Lubbock led by Republicans. Its founders, Stephen Sanders and Hallie Bertrand, say they may not vote for Abbott — though they stop short of committing to Hinojosa.

Sanders said there is still time for Abbott to pass meaningful legislation before the election and "be a hero."

Whether enough rural voters will defect from Abbott to give Hinojosa a realistic path remains uncertain. Bertrand acknowledged the difficulty, particularly among voters unfamiliar with the issue.

"They'll just hit that button, Republican all the way down," Bertrand said. "But I think it's a step towards something that we have not seen in Texas in a long time, with people on the right switching to the left. Or scooting a little closer to the middle, maybe."

Follow Marc Levy at http://twitter.com/timelywriter

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.