Democratic Presidential Hopefuls Dodge Questions on AI Policy as Sanders Pushes Technology Pause

Democratic presidential hopefuls are struggling to articulate their vision on artificial intelligence policy, with nearly all potential 2028 candidates declining to answer direct questions about Senator Bernie Sanders' call for AI CEOs to "stop building machines that humans cannot control."

According to an Axios survey of nearly 20 Democratic presidential hopefuls, only former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel offered substantive critique of Sanders' proposal, while most others avoided direct responses or simply didn't respond at all. The reluctance to engage comes as the politics of AI are changing as fast as the technology itself, with some Democratic strategists fearing the party will be caught flat-footed on the issue in 2028.

Growing Public Backlash Against AI Infrastructure

The silence from presidential hopefuls is particularly notable given growing public backlash against AI infrastructure. A recent Fox News poll found 70% of voters oppose building an AI data center in their community, signaling a sharp turn in public sentiment over the past year.

About half the potential contenders simply didn't respond to Axios' questions, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Almost no one criticized what Axios reporters characterized as Sanders' neo-Luddite position. None embraced Sanders' proposal to halt the technology, but the lack of pushback suggests candidates are wary of alienating voters increasingly skeptical of AI development.

Bipartisan Movement on Data Center Moratoriums

While presidential hopefuls remain cautious, candidates running in this year's midterm elections—Democrats and Republicans alike—have been quicker to embrace data center pauses.

Michigan Senate GOP nominee Mike Rogers supports a one-year moratorium on new data centers, while Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton calls for a "conditional moratorium" and Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity backs a "pause."

Among potential 2028 Democratic candidates, only Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ro Khanna, both progressives, have expressed support for data center pauses. Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff noted that she is "leading the data center moratorium bill in the House," though he declined to comment on Sanders' idea of halting AI technology. Khanna told Axios he supports a pause on data center construction in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin—"places where these centers have been shoved down the throats of communities"—representing a shift from his previous stance.

New York has already passed a one-year moratorium on hyperscaler data centers, demonstrating that Sanders' once far-out-sounding proposals are gaining traction. Sanders, who became the first member of Congress to back a data center moratorium late last year, has a history of shaping the debate over AI. At the time, most Democrats who were asked about the proposal rejected it. Now, 2026 candidates across the political spectrum are saying there should be state-level pauses on data centers.

State Leaders Shift Positions

Some potential Democratic presidential candidates who've been reluctant to back a moratorium have sought to show voters they're taking a hard line on data centers—stark reversals from their previous positions.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration has railed against "irresponsible" data centers, while Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has revoked tax breaks for data center developments. A spokesperson for Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly said there should be "no data centers in communities that don't want them."

At the federal level, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker are supporting legislation that would force data centers to cover their own energy costs. "Americans should not have to pay higher electric bills and other costs to subsidize the data centers being built by the richest corporations on the planet," Van Hollen said.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy's office referred to a Substack post in which he wrote about a recent trip to Silicon Valley, where he said he "could divine very few 'American values' (juxtaposed against 'Chinese values')" guiding AI development. "Any talk about ethical or moral AI is just whitewash," Murphy's post said.

Emanuel Offers Rare Critique

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was the only potential 2028 candidate who offered critique of Sanders' position: "This is talking around a problem instead of trying to solve it. A pause is fine — but then what?"

"The real question," Emanuel said, "is how the time it buys gets used to build a comprehensive plan that meets America's energy needs instead of masking them." Emanuel called for permitting reform and requiring Big Tech hyperscalers to pay for upgrades to the energy infrastructure.

Strategic Concerns for Democrats

Some Democratic strategists say their party's presidential hopefuls have been too slow to develop a clear populist message on AI. They worry that could create an opening for Republicans to capitalize on the voter rebellion over data centers in 2028.

Adam Carlson, a progressive pollster, described Democrats as "overly cautious" about the topic. "It's a big strategic error for the Democratic Party writ large not to be the one that's owning this," he said. "What if JD Vance comes out and is the first major presidential candidate to support a data center moratorium, other than AOC? That's a huge miss."

Carlson speculated that presidential hopefuls might be waiting to see the outcome of the Nov. 3 midterms before staking out clearer positions.

Many Republican and Democratic politicians championed data centers in the recent past, arguing that they raise tax revenue for local governments and create construction jobs. But even some Republicans have become alarmed that the blowback over data centers could hurt them, given that President Trump and his administration have been leading champions of the technology.

The industry itself is showing signs of responding to political pressure. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced last week that the company has temporarily paused some technological training.

Sources

1. 2028 Dems dodge on Bernie's push to pause AI development — Axios