Maine Senate Race Decided by AI Data Center Backlash — SkimNews
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- Susan Collins has received $325,644 from AI and crypto donors and is backed by super PACs funded by Elon Musk and Stephen Schwarzman, as her campaign ties to data center interests intensify
- Maine voters oppose local data center construction by a 76 percent margin, with 58 percent strongly opposed, according to a September UMass Lowell and YouGov poll
- Tech and AI donors, including Palantir’s Alex Karp and Andreessen Horowitz’s Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, have contributed heavily to Collins’ reelection bid, aligning with her support for data center expansion
- Elon Musk’s Senate Leadership Fund and America PAC have spent $42 million and $2.1 million respectively in Maine, while his SpaceX PAC donated $105,000 to Collins’ Victory Committee and a pro-Collins super PAC
- Troy Jackson, Collins’ Democratic challenger, lacks Big Tech donor ties and advocates for union jobs in data center development, though he shares her stance on regulating AI and data infrastructure
- Collins’ husband Thomas Daffron holds AI- and data center-linked investments worth $300,000 to $800,000 and received consulting fees from a lobbyist whose firm represents Maine data center developers
- Rural Mainers cite rising utility costs, environmental harm, and economic extraction as core concerns, drawing parallels between data centers and past boom-and-bust extractive industries like timber and paper mills
Why it matters: The influx of tech money into a state with deep skepticism toward outside exploitation turns Maine’s Senate race into a referendum on who benefits from AI growth: local communities or distant billionaires. With $195 million in total spending, the outcome will shape federal AI policy and set a precedent for how rural America responds to tech-driven development.
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