More than 15 political candidates across the US have signed a pledge called the AI Pact, promising to push for mandatory safety reviews of AI models, an “AI dividend” for workers, and the right for consumers and companies to sue over AI-caused harms. The pact also asks signers to support policies that would ban tax breaks, backroom deals, and excessive energy usage for data centers. It was created by the Political Integrity Project, an anti-money-in-politics group, with funding from a progressive political action committee. Daniel Lobo-Lewis, a founder, said the five promises were developed with input from AI safety groups and political organizations working on AI legislation.
The pact enters a midterm cycle where data center opposition has become a major issue. Signers include Representative Justin Pearson, a Tennessee Democrat known for opposing pollution from SpaceX’s data centers, and Will Lawrence, a left candidate who won a competitive Michigan primary in a district with strong data center opposition. One independent candidate, Dan Osborn, who is running for Senate in Nebraska against Republican Pete Ricketts, said he found common ground with a “hardcore MAGA” voter on AI and data centers. Osborn, a Navy veteran and labor leader, said data centers can provide infrastructure and jobs but that Congress needs to regulate them, adding that “calling a time-out right now doesn’t seem like a horrible thing.”
The pledge does not call for an explicit moratorium on data centers. Lobo-Lewis said the language is intentionally a “floor” for candidates, especially those with labor ties, as some unions have reaffirmed support for data center construction. Alexander McCoy, a progressive strategist on AI issues, noted that swing-seat candidates care about affordability and jobs, and may not want to reject data center projects outright. He said the question is whether short-term construction jobs are worth long-term disruption to other workers.
The pact’s positions overlap with recent moves by leaders of both parties. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, have both taken steps to regulate data center development. Abbott announced a temporary moratorium on data center construction in Texas this month, saying data centers have “dug their own grave.” The White House is developing a voluntary safety review for AI models, and President Trump has met with AI executives about a worker dividend for AI profits, an idea reportedly pitched by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Gina Hinojosa, a Texas state representative running for governor against Abbott, has signed the pact and attacked Abbott’s moratorium as insufficient. She said data centers support an AI industry with no rules, threatening jobs, health, and safety, and that Texans need laws to protect them. She said AI should not replace teachers or nurses, and that guardrails are missing. Lobo-Lewis dismissed the White House’s voluntary actions as lip service, saying he cannot imagine the administration would back mandatory safety reviews or nationwide tax break bans.
Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent senator, linked AI safety to data centers in March by proposing a national moratorium until Congress passes protective legislation. Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, running as a Republican for Senate, released a plan that would make data centers legally liable for chatbots that “undermine children’s safety.” Some polls, however, suggest environmental concerns about data centers still outrank AI worries among the public. Osborn said the idea that voters do not connect data centers to Big Tech problems, like privacy violations and Flock cameras, is something incubated in Washington, DC, adding that “they like to pretend that we’re all stupid.”
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