What candidates in Arkansas’ US Senate race say about AI, data centers
Arkansas U.S. Senate candidates Tom Cotton, Hallie Shoffner and Jeff Wadlin said local residents should have a voice in deciding whether data centers are built near their communities. They differed on federal oversight of artificial intelligence, while Cotton promoted measures addressing data centers’ electricity demands and Wadlin called for companies to pay for their water and power use.
The three candidates in Arkansas’ U.S. Senate race—Republican incumbent Tom Cotton, Democrat Hallie Shoffner and Libertarian Jeff Wadlin—said residents should have the ability to weigh in on nearby data center projects. Their positions reflect growing concerns in Arkansas about the facilities’ electricity and water consumption, as well as their effects on local communities.
Shoffner supports greater transparency and a federal agency to oversee artificial intelligence. Cotton favors targeted federal rules rather than a new bureaucracy and has introduced legislation allowing data centers to build their own power grids, while supporting proposed standards for connecting them to the electric grid. Wadlin called for companies to pay for their electricity and water use and said AI regulation should develop alongside the industry, with local town halls and public input on data center proposals.