US President Donald Trump on Saturday defended data centres that power artificial intelligence projects but have become a contentious campaign issue nationwide, as he took his midterm tour to Ohio to insist his party will keep its majorities in Congress despite steep political headwinds .

Trump took several minutes during his campaign rally in southwestern Ohio to promote his administration's action on data centres, saying he was seeking to ensure they “benefit local communities" and praising Republican Senator Jon Husted for an ill-fated attempt to push forward legislation on the issue.

“Look, there’s so much money to be made for Ohio. You can’t just turn them off. They’ll go to China," Trump said, repeating his defence of data centres that he had made before.

The crowd, which had reacted enthusiastically as the president talked about other policies, was far more muted during the data centres remark.

The massive warehouse campuses generating energy for AI projects have become a toxic political issue, drawing bipartisan opposition in races across the country, with voters concerned about their impact on electricity prices, farmland and water supplies.

It's become especially acute in Ohio, where Husted has been repeatedly attacked for his role in attracting data centres to Ohio as lieutenant governor.

Trump is embarking on what he says will be a 32-day blitz ahead of the November 3 elections , hitting the deep red states of Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama this week before pivoting to Ohio, a battleground state that’s home to one of the top-tier Senate races this cycle.

Husted — who was appointed to fill the Senate vacancy left by now-Vice President JD Vance — is running to win the seat outright.

There is likely no path to a Senate majority for Democrats without flipping Ohio, where former three-term Senator Sherrod Brown is trying to return to the Senate after losing to Republican Bernie Moreno two years ago.

Since last year, Democrats have listed Ohio, along with states such as North Carolina and Maine, as key races to win control of the Senate.

And this past week, the head of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm said Ohio is among 10 battleground races that are “within striking distance.”

“The good news for us is that Jon Husted is a closer,” Senator Tim Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told reporters.

“We’re seeing the gap that was there between the two candidates, which was just a few points, now it is right at a dead-even race. So this is as tight as ticks, as we say in South Carolina.”

Data centres are a hot issue in the Ohio race.

At his rallies, Trump has been trying to convince voters that the economy is better than they feel it is, even though polls show Americans are frustrated with the way he's handled it.

The high cost of living, including gas prices elevated by Trump's war on Iran, is a top issue in the Dayton area, too.

And just days before Trump's rally, nearly 1,400 people were laid off from a truck factory in nearby Springfield.

“Your state is booming. Every — I hate to say it — every state is booming," Trump insisted Saturday. "They’re all booming.”

Trump's rally comes as Republicans worry that Husted’s campaign has failed to adequately catch fire with voters in the Republican-dominated state.

Brown and allied groups have hammered Husted for his data-centres role, and the NRSC has pinpointed it as a political vulnerability. (AP)



Edited by Tony Sabine