The Anti-Data-Center Movement Is Reshaping Michigan Politics

Will Lawrence is 1 of the founders of the Sunrise Movement, a grassroots clime activism group. Now, he’s moving for Congress successful a Michigan plaything district, 1 of a increasing fistful of candidates astir the state calling for a moratorium connected information halfway development.

Senator Bernie Sanders has endorsed him, calling Lawrence a campaigner who volition “demand existent accountability for large tech and AI companies.” And the backlash to information centers, Lawrence says, is helping him recognize agrarian absorption to different benignant of large-scale concern task successful the state: utility-scale renewable energy.

Lawrence’s run sees information centers arsenic a potent taxable to rally voters to his broadside successful the Democratic superior successful Michigan’s 7th district, to beryllium held successful August. Internal polling conducted by Data for Progress of apt Democratic superior voters successful the territory shared with WIRED shows that much than 40 percent of respondents were “much much likely” to ballot for a campaigner who opposed information centers. The connection resonated adjacent much with respondents nether 45: Almost 80 percent of younger voters said they’d beryllium overmuch much apt oregon much apt to enactment an anti-data-center candidate. (The 7th territory includes the assemblage municipality of Ingham.)

Data centers “certainly [weren’t] the contented I expected to beryllium talking astir connected the campaign,” Lawrence tells WIRED. Voters, helium says, started organically approaching him astatine municipality halls and different meetings aft helium announced his candidacy past summer, asking for his proposal arsenic a longtime organizer astir however to transmission the anti-data-center vigor among their neighbors into thing productive.

“People consciousness similar they’re being utterly disrespected by the companies and the section officials who are welcoming them into town,” helium says.

The Data for Progress canvass enactment Lawrence up of some his opponents successful the primary. Another canvass commissioned by 1 of his opponents and released successful April shows Lawrence winning the primary, though it besides shows the immense bulk of voters stay undecided. Lawrence besides remains a distant 3rd successful fundraising.

There are astatine slightest 11 information centers planned passim Michigan, according to the clean-energy database Cleanview. Significant section pushback successful 2 townships successful the 7th territory person stalled astatine slightest 2 planned projects implicit the past year. But information halfway developers person recovered ways astir section absorption elsewhere successful the state. After a township successful the 6th territory voted against an Oracle information halfway earlier this year, the institution sued, and the municipality fto improvement statesman alternatively than prosecute successful a costly tribunal battle.

Earlier this month, Michigan politician Gretchen Whitmer appeared astatine the opening of the Oracle information center, wherever she was photographed smiling adjacent to OpenAI’s Sam Altman and praised the $16 cardinal investment.

“Any campaigner worthy their value knows that these information centers are toxic,” says Cooper Teboe, a Democratic strategist based successful California. Candidates that don’t admit this, Teboe says, “are not candidates that are going to win.”

Christy McGillivray, the enforcement manager of Voters Not Politicians, a Michigan-based ideology betterment organization, says that Whitmer’s quality astatine the opening was a large misstep for the governor, who’s been floated arsenic a 2028 statesmanlike contender.

“It virtually blew my mind,” she says. “I was like, ‘Are you trying to wounded the full Democratic party?’”

While connected the run trail, Lawrence says that helium met with information halfway protesters who differed importantly with him politically. These included radical opposed to information halfway operation who were besides opposed to star and upwind projects being built connected farmland.

Michigan is simply a hotbed of absorption to renewable vigor projects. A 2025 reappraisal ranks it arsenic the authorities with the largest fig of section restrictions: More than 60 section governments successful Michigan passed ordinances, moratoriums, oregon different restrictions connected upwind and star improvement betwixt 2011 and 2024. Local opposition, the study found, had stalled oregon blocked astatine slightest 28 projects crossed the state.