MONTGOMERY, Ala. — This week, Alabamians across the state will learn what living next to the piercing hum of a data center could sound like if Sen. Tommy Tuberville is elected governor in November.
In a pointed new ad playing across streaming platforms, YouTube and Meta, New Southern Majority is calling out Sen. Tuberville’s obsession with building more of these massive structures across the state. Sen. Tuberville has been an outspoken advocate for data centers, even doubling down on his support as Alabamians living near proposed structures say they would “destroy their quality of life.”
“This ad may read tongue-in-cheek, but this emergency warning is no joke,” said Brandon Jones, director of political campaigns, New Southern Majority. “If Tommy Tuberville is elected in November, he has made clear that Alabama’s lands are open for business to Big Tech. And the racket that these data centers bring to otherwise peaceful neighborhoods may be the least of communities’ worries when tech companies are allowed to build without guardrails or public input.”
In a survey of 500 likely Republican primary voters conducted earlier this year by Gray Television Alabama stations and Alabama Daily News, a quarter of respondents said that data centers are bad for the state, while the majority are either split on or unsure of the benefits. Just 22% of those surveyed said data centers are good for Alabama.
These numbers mirror the growing skepticism of data centers among the broader American electorate. According to a Pew Research Center survey released in September, about half of Americans now view data centers as bad for the environment (54%), home energy costs (50%) and quality of life for people who live nearby (49%).
“The politicians who are rubber-stamping the construction of these gigantic buildings right in the backyards of small communities would never put one in their own neighborhood. And many Alabamians are frustrated that they are forced to bear the costs of the Big Tech buildout without any of the benefits,” Jones said. “November offers voters in Alabama an opportunity to send a direct message that cozying up to the tech industry at the expense of your constituents comes with political consequences. The question is whether Tommy Tuberville will be able to hear that message over the sound of his favorite data center.”
This the second ad released by New Southern Majority addressing Sen. Tuberville. The first ad focuses on the senator’s broken promise to Alabama’s veterans.
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New Southern Majority IE PAC is an independent expenditure committee that promotes candidates running for office in the South who stand for racial justice and work to advance human rights for all people. NSM makes independent expenditures primarily to support candidates running for local office.