Paxton unveils data center plan, joining other GOP candidates in calling for restrictions

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) unveiled a plan Monday to place restrictions on data centers if elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the latest GOP candidate to take a stronger stance against the controversial AI infrastructure.

Paxton laid out his four-point plan, vowing to “fiercely advocate” for Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) state-level data center plan and sponsor or back various federal legislation.

This includes legislation that would bar the use of Chinese technology to power data centers and would hold data center developers criminally liable if their infrastructure “empowers AI chatbots that undermine children’s safety.”

He also said he would co-sponsor the Decentralized Access to Technology Alternatives Act, a bill from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) that would exempt new, off-grid electricity providers from certain federal regulations in an effort to prevent data centers from raising consumer electricity costs.

“My Texas First Data Center Plan will protect our grid, our communities, and our children while ensuring America beats Communist China in the AI race,” Paxton wrote in a post on the social platform X. “Texas First. Always.”

Paxton is facing off against Democratic nominee James Talarico in a tight race for the Texas Senate seat, which the Cook Political Report recently classified as a “toss-up.”

Data centers have increasingly become a central issue in the midterm elections, as Americans have grown wary of the push to rapidly build more of the sprawling server warehouses to support AI development.

This has prompted several Republican candidates to stake out positions against data centers , even as President Trump continues to embrace the build-out.

Former Rep. Mike Rogers, the GOP nominee for Senate in Michigan, announced last week that he was calling for a one-year moratorium on new data center construction in the state.

In the Pennsylvania governor’s race, Republican Stacy Garrity is calling for a “pause” on data center development and has taken aim at incumbent Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) over his prior support for such projects.

Meanwhile, Abbott announced a series of new restrictions on data centers in June, directing the state’s utility and its regulator to take steps to limit economic impacts on residents. He also pledged to work with the Texas Legislature to mandate water-efficient technologies and repeal data center incentives.

Earlier this month, the Texas governor also said he was placing a moratorium on new data center approvals pending a state audit.