AI scrambles the political map

The search for a winning message on AI is pushing candidates and lawmakers into unexpected political territory.

Why it matters: With the midterms approaching, AI is creating alliances across party lines while opening fissures within them.

Here are three ways AI is scrambling the political map.

1.

Centrist Democrats versus progressives on data centers New York made waves as the first state to impose a data center moratorium — a product of Gov.

Kathy Hochul joining forces with progressive state Sen.

Kristen Gonzalez.

But the two policymakers are just getting started on reconciling their differing approaches to AI.

Gonzalez previously advocated for a three-year moratorium and is working to extend the one-year pause in Hochul's executive order.

She's spearheading a statewide tour to advocate for Hochul to sign her Responsible Data Center Development Act.

Gonzalez is going beyond Democratic strongholds, with her tour reaching into red and purple parts of upstate New York and the Hudson Valley.

Where Hochul and Gonzalez land is an early test of just how much progressive and centrist Democrats can align on an issue that's mobilizing voters across the political spectrum.

What they're saying: "We need Gov.

Hochul to step up and sign the bill and provide full protection to the people of New York," Sustainable Finger Lakes President Gay Nicholson said in a call with reporters ahead of the tour.