Half of Americans oppose building a data center within three miles of their homes, according to a new Politico poll, marking a sharp shift in public opinion as the facilities become a political issue ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

The survey, conducted Oct. 16-19, found that 50% of respondents opposed a nearby data center, including 35% who strongly opposed one. Just 21% supported construction near their homes. In January, opposition stood at 28%, while support reached 36%.

Candidates backing data center projects could face a political disadvantage. When respondents were asked about a Republican congressional candidate supporting a nearby facility, 41% said they would be less likely to support the candidate or would definitely oppose them, compared with 24% who said they would be more likely to support the candidate.

The figures were similar for Democrats. Thirty-nine percent said they would be less likely to support a Democratic candidate who backed a local data center, while 23% said they would be more likely to support that candidate.

Candidates opposing data centers received more favorable responses. Forty-seven percent said they would be more likely to support or would definitely support a Democrat who fought a local project, compared with 36% for a Republican taking the same position.

The poll also found that nearly half of Americans now view Republicans as the party most eager to build data centers, up from 38% in January. However, 46% said they did not know where their own House candidate stood on the issue.

Campaign advertising reflects the growing controversy. A review of AdImpact tracking data identified 579 ads mentioning data centers in competitive House, Senate and gubernatorial races this election cycle. Nearly all portrayed the facilities negatively, and almost 80% were run by Democrats.

Republicans have begun responding to the political pressure. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the party’s Senate campaign arm, warned the data center industry in August that disputes over the projects could threaten Sen. Jon Husted’s reelection prospects in Ohio. Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers has also supported a pause on new construction.

President Donald Trump, who has backed the data center industry, urged companies Wednesday to provide financial benefits to the communities hosting their facilities. In a post on Truth Social, Trump called for companies to pay host communities a “dividend,” arguing that projects facing local opposition had become popular when financial agreements were reached.

Democratic officials have also taken steps to address concerns about the facilities. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order in July pausing certain state environmental permits for data center projects capable of using at least 50 megawatts of electricity for up to a year.

McKenzie Wilson, a strategist at the progressive firm Blue Rose Research, told Politico that it is unusual to see voters turn against an issue so quickly.

The online survey was conducted by London-based polling firm PF Global among 2,019 U.S. adults. Results were weighted by age, gender, state, education, and race, with an overall margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points. The candidate-specific questions were asked of smaller groups of approximately 950 to 1,100 respondents, meaning those results have larger margins of error.