North Carolina’s congressional primary Tuesday is an early test of data center politics — a fight that is increasingly shaping elections across the country.
In the Durham-area 4th District, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee is seeking her third term against progressive rival Nida Allam, a Durham County commissioner whom she defeated in 2022.
The heated rematch comes against the backdrop of a major battle over data centers in the district. Allam has come out strongly against a proposed massive new facility and supports a federal moratorium on data centers. Meanwhile, Foushee said he doesn’t personally support the new development, but that decisions about data centers should be left to local leaders, not the feds.
Until mid-February, Allam’s campaign donations dwarfed Foushee’s, thanks to Pacs like Justice Democrats and gun control activist David Hogg’s Leaders We Deserve. Over the past two weeks, that picture has changed dramatically as top Pacs have rushed to back the incumbent.
Chief among them is Jobs and Democracy, a Super Pac whose only disclosed donor is Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind Claude. The group has spent about $1.6 million on Foushee’s re-election campaign since Feb. 21.
Although Anthropic has no known ties to the local data center proposal, the opposition has left some local residents especially skeptical of any political funding tied to Big Tech.
Anthropic calls itself security-focused and has made headlines in recent days for rejecting the Pentagon’s demand for unrestricted use of its products, although its tools have since been reported to have been used in attacks against Iran. The company has supported some state AI safeguards and last year helped defeat a federal ban on state AI regulations.
As part of the broader Public First Action network, Jobs and Democracy Super Pac “was created to fight back and ensure that leaders who have been on the front lines of protecting children, families, workers, and our national security from the risks of unregulated AI are elected,” spokesperson Anthony Rivera-Rodriguez wrote in an email.
However, the idea that a large tech-backed group would support candidates who will regulate AI to the extent necessary is “laughable,” according to Allam.
“That would be like me allowing my two children to decide and be the dictators of their own bedtime,” she said in an interview with The Guardian.
Hundreds of people signed an open letter urging candidates to oppose the data center proposal in the 4th District and reject Pac money from Big Tech.
Allam, who agreed to the terms of the letter, said: “I wear it as a badge of honor that (Big Tech) sees me as a threat.”
But when a high school student asked Foushee if she would accept funding from the AI sector last month, she said, “I haven’t made any promises.”
In an email, Foushee said, “I do not coordinate with Super Pacs in any way” and that he will push data center regulation through Congress.
“I have been fighting for a long time to hold oligarchs and large corporations accountable in Congress,” he said. “Nothing will ever change that.
A showdown in the data center
Foushee’s Anthropic-linked financing has drawn heavy criticism from constituents who oppose Maryland-based Natelli Investments’ plan to build a sprawling 190-acre data center near Apex, 20 miles southwest of Raleigh.
The developer has not said which companies will use the facilities.
The proposal has sparked backlash over energy and water use and potential increases in toxic and planet-warming emissions. Some 5,000 people have signed a petition against it.
“Between electricity, water issues, air quality, health and noise pollution,” said Michelle O’Connor, who lives about a mile and a half from the proposal and has a doctorate in health sciences, “I have yet to find a solid reason why this is good for Apex.”
The two Democratic candidates have responded to the fight differently. Foushee, backed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and the League of Conservation Voters, says that while she is not personally in favor of the Apex proposal, local leaders should be in charge.
“I share many of the same concerns as my constituents. I believe we need to protect the local environment and our community’s electricity costs,” he told The Guardian. “I trust local leaders to make the right decision and listen to our community, and I don’t want to be a thorn in their side.”
But Allam maintains that federal leaders must curb the rapid expansion of AI. A former state Democratic Party leader and Bernie Sanders staffer in 2016, backed by the youth-led climate group Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats, she has rallied alongside residents against the Apex proposal. When Chatham County, also in the 4th District, passed its own moratorium on data centers earlier this month, Allam hailed the policy as “great news.”
Along with Sanders, he calls for a 10-year national moratorium on data centers. Such a pause would allow lawmakers to develop requirements for facilities to recycle their own water and pay for dedicated supplies of clean energy, such as solar, avoiding increases in local bills, resource depletion and climate impacts.
“We need to implement these rules or it will be our working-class neighbors who will suffer the most,” he said.
Jobs and Democracy told The Guardian that he supports leaders who “defend the interests of voters over big tech.” Spokesman Anthony Rivera-Rodriguez said Foushee has been “a voice against the data center proposal in his district,” consistent with the group’s support for leaders taking on unregulated AI.
Super Pac and Foushee argue that states and localities should decide whether to approve data centers rather than federal lawmakers. Foushee said a national moratorium could have unintended consequences, such as preventing communities from building hospitals that rely on data infrastructure.
Although local leaders should be in charge, the representative said she will “push for data center regulations, including first-of-its-kind land use policies to hold large corporations accountable for their effects on local costs and the environment as Democrats regain the majority.”
Allam said Foushee’s position “shifts the buck” to state leaders, who may be limited by federal law in enacting certain protections. Stronger federal leadership is needed, he said.
In December, Foushee was named co-chair of a new bipartisan AI commission. The Jobs and Democracy PAC has also funded ads supporting one of the commission’s two other co-chairs, New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer.
On the body, Foushee last week expressed concern about reports that Anthropic had backed away from key security commitments related to military use amid pressure from Trump officials, although he called on the administration, not the company, to change its behavior. It also called on tech companies to detail how AI influenced recent layoffs and pointed out the sector’s environmental footprint.
“Congress needs to establish clear regulations to ensure that data centers do not harm our environment,” he said.
Critics say accepting Super Pac funding tied to technology undermines that message.
“She can’t have our best interests in mind when she depends on his money to stay in office,” said Usamah Andrabi, communications director for Justice Democrats.
Victoria Plant, a local organizer for the Sunrise Movement, said Foushee “has offered no real regulations to stop the rampant expansion.”
During the 2022 cycle, Foushee also faced criticism for accepting funding from the pro-Israel lobby and a Super Pac linked to disgraced cryptocurrency financier Sam Bankman-Fried, who was later convicted of fraud. Foushee said in 2022 that he donated his Bankman-Fried-linked contribution to a nonprofit, and this year he said he will no longer accept donations from the pro-Israel lobby.
Money in politics
The Apex data center reflects broader concerns about the rapid expansion of AI, Allam said. At peak demand, the project could consume up to 1 million gallons of water per day, about one-fifth of the city’s average daily use, according to city officials. Natelli has said the project will not affect drinking water and says the facility will comply with local codes and ordinances.
It would also require about 300 megawatts of electricity, about three times the annual consumption of Apex and nearby New Hill combined, said Bill Dam, a retired environmental scientist who lives two miles from the site.
“It is not in our best interest for this project to be carried out,” he said.
The facility would draw power from a nearby nuclear plant and have 100 diesel generators for backup. If used frequently to stabilize the grid during high demand, such generators will produce toxic and planet-warming emissions, Dam warned.
And although the developer says the project should not affect energy rates, data centers have been linked to rising prices in North Carolina, Allam said.
Foushee said she is also concerned about “local water use, increased electricity costs and pollution” due to the Apex proposal.
Allam said residents are right to be skeptical that she would act on those beliefs.
“You can’t allow the same industry you’re trying to regulate to fund them and expect residents to believe they’re going to have independent thinking,” he said.
He said he is under no illusions that lawmakers can or should stop the spread of AI entirely. “I think the United States ought “Be a leader in the AI space,” he said, “but we have to do it in a way that really benefits communities.”
