The Senate GOP campaign arm, in a private memo to top AI companies, warns that toxic views of U.S. data centers are killing the party's chances of holding a vital seat in Ohio.

• In the memo, obtained by Axios, the National Republican Senatorial Committee says Democrats have made data centers a "centerpiece" of their campaign to defeat Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) — and that it's working.
• "If he loses and data centers get the blame, politicians across the country will take notice — and they will not go near the next one," the memo says. "This has become a sleeper issue for the entire election cycle."

Why it matters: Republicans want the AI companies to do whatever it takes to stem the public backlash.

The big picture: AI CEOs and top Republicans share in the rising panic. They tell us internal polls show data centers are as popular as spent nuclear waste, and more broadly have become a proxy for feelings about AI.

• Tech giants are scrambling to pull together media campaigns to try to shift opinion before it hardens locally and nationally.
• But Democrats aren't dummies. They see the same polls and are moving fast.
• Even politicians who previously embraced data centers, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), are racing to crack down on them this election year. On Tuesday, Shapiro, ahead of a possible 2028 presidential run, signed an executive order imposing "strict guardrails" for data-center development.

There are now more than 4,000 data centers online across the U.S., with another 3,000-plus centers proposed or in progress.

• They're designed to power the AI that's transforming the American economy, but have drawn protests from communities nationwide because they require massive amounts of electricity, can drive up utility bills, use huge amounts of water, involve enormous warehouse-like structures and provide few jobs.
• They also have become local targets for residents' anxiety about how AI is eliminating jobs.

Zoom in: Husted's opponent in Ohio, former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), has spent millions of dollars on a summer ad campaign calling Husted "the face of data centers in Ohio."

• Republicans say the issue is especially potent in heavily blue-collar Ohio because the state has several big data center projects in the works. Nvidia and OpenAI have announced a project in the last few days. Meta, Vantage and QTS also have projects there.
• The NRSC memo says Brown has made data centers his "de facto opponent."

By the numbers: A Fox News poll last week showed Brown leading Husted by 8 points.

State of play: Republicans say in the memo, headlined "Ohio Data Center Risk," that it's up to AI companies to improve perceptions of data centers by explaining "who benefits, who pays, and why a community should want one."

• "Until that happens, the issue will continue to dominate this race," the memo says.

The bottom line: The memo argues that a Husted loss would cause long-lasting damage to AI companies in their push to build data centers nationwide to power future generations of AI.

• "If voters' perceptions of data centers are not fixed quickly, the campaign against them will expand far beyond Ohio," the party warns.

Axios' Maria Curi contributed reporting.

The Iran war — defined by fits and starts and strain on America's military — will hit the half-year mark next week with both Washington and Tehran betting they can outlast one another.

Why it matters: President Trump has repeatedly promised the fight would be quick, decisive and over "very soon."

The big picture: The war's length is pushing once-niche national-security issues — munitions levels, defense contracting, at-sea replenishment — into everyday conversation.

• The Navy is the topic du jour, as prolonged deployments stress-test ships, sailors, Marines and their families.

Zoom in: Trump said this week he wanted to claim the Strait of Hormuz and posted a map on Truth Social labeling it a "U.S. territory."

• He also threatened to "bomb the shit" out of Oman, a country that has committed billions of dollars to buying U.S. weapons.
• Days earlier, word spread that an American aircraft carrier in the Pacific, the USS George Washington, was being sent to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln.
• That carrier's time at sea — more than 250 days — came under scrutiny as reports emerged that several distressed service members tried jumping overboard.

Friction point: The Pentagon hasn't held a press briefing in months. It has also faced criticism for obscuring troop deaths in an online tracker.

More from Axios:

• Iran war drives multi-year missile defense gap
• Trump to Axios: "We are low-keying it" with Iran
• Trump's Iran envoys quietly convene nuclear experts in Tennessee

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