U.S. Senate · Texas
Side-by-side comparison of candidate stances on AI hyperscale data center moratoriums, electricity rate hikes, water depletion, and Super PAC funding.
Candidate Position
Talarico opposes state tax handouts and subsidies for data centers that inflate utility bills for working families, proposing local community approval power and an AI dividend so citizens benefit directly from tech growth.
Sources & Verified Statements
“We need an AI dividend so every American citizen owns a share in this technology, and local communities must have full authority over data centers that impact their power and water costs.”
“Data centers are jacking up utility bills across the state of Texas”
“I was actually up in Abilene meeting with residents, Democrats and Republicans alike, because they are building three giant data centers... We got to force them to pay for their own energy instead of jacking up our utility bills... We've got to force them to recycle their water so they are not exacerbating the water crisis here in Texas, and force them to get the consent of the people who live in these communities before they start building.”
Candidate Position
Paxton characterizes his position as a 'yes with conditions' rather than an extreme binary stance, demanding that data centers generate their own electricity without raising grid rates, use closed-loop water cooling, and exclude Chinese technology.
Sources & Verified Statements
“This is not an extreme yes-no. This is a yes with conditions.”
“There's plenty of open space in Texas and other parts of the country that we can put data centers that do not create a different atmosphere for a neighborhood... Eventually, we have to move forward with some type of reasonable restriction so that these data centers are not harming people.”