(LifeSiteNews) — Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback pledged to stop the construction of AI data centers in the state if elected governor.
“As the next Governor of Florida, I will block all construction of AI Data Centers in Florida,” Fishback said during a recent campaign stop.
It’s already happening; when you build an AI Data Center… electricity bills go up.
As the next Governor of Florida, I will block all construction of AI Data Centers in Florida. pic.twitter.com/MmW9zUHBLM
— James Fishback (@j_fishback) April 14, 2026
He highlighted that individuals’ “electricity bills go up” when AI data centers are built. A June 2026 MIT-affiliated study found that average electricity prices increased about 2.1% for residents and 2.7% overall when data centers entered the utility service area.
However, Governor Ron DeSantis already signed a law in May 2026, SB 484, prohibiting utilities from passing data-center costs, including electricity costs, onto residential and small-business customers.
Gallup found in March that 71 percent oppose the construction of data centers in their areas (More than 60 percent of all political affiliations were opposed). A June Reuters/Ipsos poll found 64 percent do not think the rapid pace of data center construction is a good thing, 57 percent oppose building data centers in their communities, and 77 percent fear data centers will make their electricity more expensive. Politico found in July that 41 percent would oppose a data center within three miles of their home, up from just 28 percent opposition in January.
Americans are concerned about AI data centers not only because they have increased electricity bills for residents in surrounding areas but because they create loud and eerie noises that infringe upon the peace of neighboring residents and use excessive amounts of water.
One study from the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) found that data centers in Texas used 49 billion gallons of water in 2025 alone, with that number skyrocketing to 399 billion gallons by the year 2030.
Microsoft is facing a class-action in Wisconsin over data center noise residents can hear over a mile from the property line.
Data centers have also been found to increase temperatures in the area immediately surrounding the massive complexes by as much as 16 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fishback is more aggressively opposed to AI data centers than any other Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate. On Fishback’s campaign website, he said he will use “state preemption to prevent county commissions” from approving the building of AI data centers. He has also pledged “not to sign legislation that authorizes, subsidizes, or facilitates new data centers.”
By contrast, candidates Byron Donalds, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, and Jay Collins are not opposed to AI data center construction. Donalds instead has called for the AI centers to pay their own infrastructure costs. Paul Renner has called for a halt to AI data center expansion rather than an outright ban.
The Florida GOP’s gubernatorial primary has been a topic of national interest among conservatives given it will determine who is tasked with carrying on the legacy of DeSantis, who is widely considered the most proactive conservative officeholder in the country and has been credited with turning a former purple state deep red.