Paxton promises to ban Chinese technology and chatbots that endanger children in data center platform

The announcement comes after months of pressure from Democratic opponent James Talarico, who released his own data center plan more than a month earlier. Paxton's platform also backs the DATA Act, a bill by Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton that would allow data centers to build off-the-grid power systems exempt from federal regulation.

Paxton also signaled support for Gov. Greg Abbott's state-level regulatory approach, including repealing sales tax exemptions the data center industry currently holds, along with what his plan describes as "other outdated incentives." That puts him in an unusual position of endorsing tax increases on a sector that Texas has long courted with favorable policy.

For people in Lubbock, where data centers and the power demands that come with them are a real and growing conversation across West Texas, the stakes in this Senate race are more concrete than they might look from the outside. The region's grid capacity, water use, and local tax base all tie directly to how the state regulates this industry.

Texas holds one of the largest concentrations of data center investment in the country, making the Senate seat's stance on the industry unusually consequential.