Texas Gov. Greg Abbott delivered a sharp warning to the AI industry, saying data center companies "dug their own grave" by failing to win community support and deserve the backlash they face. Abbott’s shift marks a broader political turn among governors who once courted AI infrastructure. Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro imposed new restrictions this week after celebrating a $20 billion Amazon data center investment last year, while New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered a one-year moratorium on hyperscale data centers last month. Abbott had called Texas the "epicenter of AI development" in November while announcing a $40 billion Google investment in three data center campuses, but in June directed regulators to make companies pay the full cost of required electrical infrastructure and urged the phaseout of tax incentives. Earlier this month, he ordered audits of projects seeking access to Texas’ power grid. The backlash is now affecting Republican political calculations: the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned major AI companies that voter anger over data centers could threaten Republicans’ effort to retain a critical Ohio Senate seat. An Annenberg Public Policy Center survey found that 61% of Americans oppose a new data center in their area, up from 49% in March; opposition included 69% of Democrats, 54% of Republicans and 53% of independents. The dispute reflects concerns over electricity demand, water use, transmission infrastructure and industrial-scale construction, as well as the relatively limited number of permanent jobs created compared with warehousing and manufacturing projects. If opposition produces more moratoriums, slower permitting or abandoned projects, it could restrict the computing capacity needed for AI and weaken a major source of U.S. investment.