Sarah Brabbs used to be a fan of Michigan's Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer. "I have her book; I appreciated her stewardship and guidance during the pandemic," said Brabbs, a lifelong Democrat. "I will never not appreciate who she was during that time."
But Brabbs's view changed when Whitmer appeared on stage with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman last month to celebrate the groundbreaking of a $16 billion datacenter in Saline Township, a rural area west of Ann Arbor. "[I felt] just rage and sadness. For like a month it made me sick, just thinking about it," she said. "I'm extremely angry watching her essentially throw us under the bus, casually."
Democratic voters oppose datacenters
An Ipsos national poll found that Democratic voters oppose datacenters by a 17% margin compared with Republicans. Only 9% of Democrats supported a datacenter in their own community versus 21% of Republicans. In Michigan, a May survey of 600 likely general election voters showed 64% of Democrats opposed having a datacenter within 25 miles of their home, compared to 51.5% of Republicans.
Whitmer, who is term-limited and seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, has championed the project. But Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib called the governor's position "disgusting."
Wisconsin voters furious
In Wisconsin, another swing state where Donald Trump won by less than 1% in 2024, voters are angry at Democratic leaders' support for datacenters. Governor Tony Evers called Microsoft's datacenter complex in Mount Pleasant a "modern marvel." But just one month after his September announcement, Microsoft cancelled plans for a datacenter in nearby Caledonia due to local pushback.
Kelly Gallaher, chair of the Racine County Democratic Party, lives about two miles from the Mount Pleasant site. "The tide has really turned over the last couple of years," she said. "Right here, in south-east Wisconsin, we are so cynical and so skeptical of these kinds of projects. Our candidates have been very outspoken about the need for a moratorium on datacenters."
The Mount Pleasant site, bought by Microsoft in 2023, was formerly the site of a failed $10 billion Foxconn project. The village borrowed close to $1 billion to fund Foxconn, making leaders receptive when Microsoft arrived. Microsoft's Fairwater supercomputer, opened last month, is the first of three planned datacenters, collectively using up to 8.4 million gallons of water annually from Lake Michigan.
Michigan political fallout
The leading Democratic candidate for Michigan governor, Jocelyn Benson, is married to Ryan Friedrichs of Related Companies, the developer of the Saline Township datacenter. Abdul El-Sayed, a top Democratic US Senate candidate, has called for part-public ownership of datacenters. He leads Aipac-backed Haley Stevens in the primary, scheduled for August 4.
Brabbs said of the Saline Township project, "I fucking hate it. I think [Oracle and OpenAI] really took advantage of this particular area with their big promises. There is not anything good that is happening for the township at all." Emails to Whitmer's office and Washtenaw County Democratic leaders were not responded to or were blocked.
Brabbs added, "I'm not saying that they shouldn't happen anywhere. But the way that they're happening is ridiculous, harmful and there's nothing good about it."
