A leading Republican strategist is warning that the GOP must overhaul its approach to artificial intelligence policy after midterm losses that she says were driven in part by voter anxiety over AI and data centers, including a high-profile Senate loss in Ohio.
Janet Kelly, CEO of the Alliance for a Better Future (ABF), laid out her case during a November 6 virtual press conference built around a new ABF memo titled “How Super Intelligence (SI) Policy Helped Deliver Democrat Majorities & What the GOP Needs to Do to Recalibrate Ahead of 2028.” The memo argues that AI, which Kelly’s organization refers to as “Super Intelligence” or SI, was a decisive undercurrent in the 2026 midterms and will only grow more important heading into 2028.
“It became apparent this fall that 2026 was going to be the first AI election,” Kelly said. “But I can assure you, based on the data that I’m going to share this morning, that it will not be the last AI election.”
Kelly tied the issue directly to kitchen-table economics. “When approximately 40% of Americans believe that one day AI could take their job, and their kid in college can’t get a job or whatever, it is inextricably linked to those economic concerns,” she said.
A fast-rising concern
According to Navigator Research polling cited in the memo, the share of voters calling SI an important priority for Congress and the president jumped from 7 percent to 21 percent over the past year. “AI had the most significant growth of any issue this cycle,” Kelly said. “A year ago, 7% of voters were concerned about AI. This year and this fall, particularly, 21%. That’s a 200% increase.”
NBC News exit polling found 56 percent of voters called AI and data centers a crucial or major factor in their congressional vote. Of those voters, 65 percent backed Democrats and 33 percent backed Republicans. A September 22 Reuters/Ipsos survey found 73 percent of respondents believe AI companies have not done enough to prevent serious harm.
“Voters are very unified in that they want big tech accountability,” Kelly said. “They don’t just want accountability though; they want actual changes in how tech is done that will protect their families. That will protect our country. Protect their jobs.”
Ohio as a case study
The memo points to Cuyahoga County’s home state as a prime example of how the issue played out in a live campaign. Ohio alone saw roughly $29.9 million in Senate-race television advertising on SI and data centers, part of a nine-race total of $49.2 million, 88 percent of which came from Democratic-aligned sponsors, according to AdImpact figures cited in the memo.
Republican Sen. Jon Husted lost his Ohio seat to Democrat Sherrod Brown after becoming a central target of those ads. “Particularly in Ohio, Dems spent $30 million painting John Husted as a corrupt big tech ally, and he definitely paid the price for that on election night,” Kelly said.
In House races, advertisers spent $40.5 million across 25 districts, with Democratic-aligned and independent groups responsible for $37.5 million, or 93 percent, versus $3 million from Republican-aligned groups. “Democrats definitely took that opportunity and smartly for them seized it against Republicans and outspent Republicans nine to one on this vulnerability issue,” Kelly said.
A trust gap on the right
Navigator Research polling cited by ABF shows Democrats hold a nine-point advantage over President Trump and Republicans on SI policy, 32 percent to 23 percent. A separate October 19 Politico survey found 47 percent of respondents view Republicans as the party of tech tax breaks, compared with 21 percent for Democrats.
“This is really hard to say for someone who’s been in conservative politics for 30 years, but voters do not trust Republicans on SI or AI. They think that the GOP is too close with big tech,” Kelly said.
“At some point along the way, we realized that Democrats realized that Republicans were vulnerable on this issue, and they hijacked it for themselves, and that’s just another reason why Republicans need to act,” she added.
What Kelly wants Republicans to do
Kelly argued Republicans still have time to course-correct before 2028, pointing to children’s safety legislation as the clearest opening for bipartisan action. “I think the easiest thing to do would be the child safety legislation in Congress,” she said. “That is, again, 93% of American voters believe that chatbots should be not be talking to children about suicide or sex, there is a there’s a lot of good legislation.”
“My view is if American voters agree with something at a 93% level, that is not compromise. That is common sense,” Kelly said, adding that continued congressional inaction risks deepening public frustration. “It’s hard to imagine them being even more frustrated with Congress, but I think that they’re just going to lose all hope.”
On national security, Kelly pointed to Trump’s SI Accords as a foundation to build on. “The SI Accords is, I think, just a brilliant way to start the conversation, and anything that Congress can do to make that more permanent would be wise,” she said, adding that lawmakers could push for more transparency and independent auditing “inside some of these frontier labs.”
The ABF memo also calls for protecting workers from being displaced by AI, requiring data center operators to cover their own power costs rather than passing them to ratepayers, and pushing developers toward applications that lower consumer costs and improve medical care.
“I think that it can reshape our lives in a very healthy way if the technology is steered in the right direction, and I can see so many places where it is steered in the right direction, but voters do not see that, and they don’t see enough of it, and they want more of it,” Kelly said.
She closed by framing AI policy as a defining test for the GOP heading into the next presidential race. “It would be political malpractice for Republicans not to adapt, not to take stock of where voters are on the issue that may be likely to be. I think it will be the preeminent issue in the 2028 elections,” Kelly said. “That is the winning message. That is what voters have said all along, but it can’t just be PR. It has to be real. Whichever party does that the best is going to have an edge in 2028.”
