This story was originally published by NC Newsline.
A new poll from Elon University shows a majority of North Carolinians are now opposed to data centers in their communities.
The increasing resistance comes as data center developers push to add more facilities throughout the state, rolling out an extensive public relations campaign to bolster the industry’s image.
The latest poll, which surveyed 800 adults in the state at the end of July, found 53% opposed having data centers in their communities, with 20% in support and 27% unsure. That’s a sizable increase since Elon’s March poll, which found 44% opposed to data centers in their communities, 24% in support of them, and 32% unsure.
Elon Poll director Jason Husser said the growing opposition spans the political spectrum, with the poll showing a plurality of Republicans and men joining a majority of Democrats, independents and women.
“It’s not just a debate in Raleigh that can be far away for people. It’s a debate in their local county seats,” Husser told NC Newsline. “That sort of local element is important in terms of driving opinion.”
More than 20 local governments have enacted moratoriums on data center development—including Cumberland County but not Fayetteville—to give them time to study the issue and design local ordinances to regulate them. But other local governments are opting against moratoriums, saying the property tax revenue could help boost tight budgets.
Husser said he’s not surprised the industry’s public relation campaign isn’t working.
“We’ve seen in the past that grassroots NIMBY movements can move the needle more than significant corporate spending, particularly when people are skeptical of those corporations to begin with,” he said.
Voter Fraud and Confidence in Elections
The poll also shows that the majority of registered voters in North Carolina don’t believe voter fraud is a major problem, but the partisan differences on the issue are starker than ever.
Out of 717 registered voters surveyed, a little over a third—37%—said they believe voter fraud is a major problem for U.S. national elections. But more than half —54%—said it’s either a minor problem or not a problem at all, and 9% weren’t sure.
Republicans were far more likely than other groups to see voter fraud as a serious problem. Nearly two-thirds—64%—said it’s a major problem, compared to 23% of Democrats and 26% of independents.
Voters overall were a little less certain about foreign interference in elections, but a plurality doesn’t see that as a major problem, either. Among registered voters, 45% said election interference by foreign governments is a minor problem or not a problem at all, while 39% believe it’s a major problem, and 17% weren’t sure.
Asked about the upcoming midterm elections, 63% of voters said they’re “very” or “somewhat” confident that the overall process will be fair, while 29% said they’re “only a little” or “not at all” confident it will be fair. Eight percent weren’t sure.
On the other hand, three-quarters of Republican respondents said they believe President Donald Trump was the winner of the 2020 presidential election, compared to 33% of respondents across all parties.
Husser said the poll was in the field shortly after Trump gave a primetime address reviving his unproven allegations of fraud in the 2020 election. “It seems that Trump has largely had the Republican Party coalesce around his narrative that he was the true winner and was cheated,” he said.
Roy Cooper Keeps Lead in U.S. Senate Race
The latest poll numbers show former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper holding onto a double-digit lead over his Republican rival Michael Whatley among likely voters.
The poll found registered voters’ familiarity with Whatley has increased by about 15% since the last Elon survey in March. Both candidates have slightly improved their net favorability.
“All that ad money is not totally going to waste,” Husser said.
But Whatley remains underwater on net favorability by -4 compared to 18 for Cooper, so the increase in voter familiarity doesn’t seem to have substantially changed the balance of the race yet.
However, voters often don’t start paying much attention to campaigns until after Labor Day, and Husser says Whatley is likely to make up some ground as the election approaches.
“Among the roughly half of voters who have heard a great deal or some about Whatley, the race becomes very close,” Husser said. “This leads me to expect some tightening in polls over the next two months.”
Still, he said, it’s an uphill battle for Whatley, especially in a midterm election without a presidential race to draw voters’ attention.
“Cooper is just so well-known,” Husser said. “It’s pretty hard to stick something to a guy who’s been scrutinized for 20 years. If there was something that was going to stick, they would have figured it out already.”
The margin of error for the poll of registered voters is +/- 4.42%.
