Lessons from the fracking fights

The data center debate is giving some communicators flashbacks to the fracking boom, which became a national political fight even as local battles frequently scrambled familiar left-right lines.

Why it matters: As it is with data centers, the comms challenge was never persuading communities to cheer for more industrial sites, but instead find ways to address local concerns while making the economic case for development.

By the numbers: Fracking never became broadly popular nationally, though opposition softened over time.

• In 2025, 45% of Americans favored expanding fracking while 51% opposed it, according to a Pew Research Center survey of 5,085 adults conducted April 28-May 4.
• In 2020, opposition stood at 60%, while just 37% were in favor, according to a Pew survey of 10,957 adults conducted April 29-May 5.

Case in point: Economic arguments can still help the industry win individual fights.

• In Colorado in 2018, the oil and gas industry spent tens of millions of dollars fighting Proposition 112, which would have "dramatically increased" setbacks for new projects, reported the Denver Post.
• The industry emphasized the economic fallout that would come from restricting development, and voters rejected the measure 57% to 43%.

Yes, but: Winning one ballot-box battle didn't put the issue to rest.

• Months later, Colorado enacted a sweeping oil and gas regulation bill that prioritized health and safety and gave local governments greater authority over drilling, but also included industry-backed provisions to prevent "overly restrictive setbacks, delays or de facto bans."

The other side: Denton, Texas, demonstrated the limits of trying to outspend local resistance or dismiss it as foreign-influenced, reported the Texas Tribune.

• In 2014, the industry-backed campaign opposing a fracking ban raised more than $700,000, more than 10 times what Frack Free Denton collected, spending on mailers, television ads and a PR and polling firm.
  All of this in a town with a population of 123,000 at the time.
• Two state oil and gas regulators and an industry-funded group also suggested, without evidence, that local activists were working with Russia to protect its natural gas interests.

• Nearly 59% of voters approved the ban anyway, including voters in precincts that also backed Republican Greg Abbott for governor.

What they're saying: "If you don't tell your story, someone else will tell it for you. And you won't like their story," said DUX Group CEO Amos Snead, who has worked energy and infrastructure fights for more than 20 years.

• "The data center and energy growth stories can avoid that outcome by showing up early in these communities, in person, with a story they own and defend proactively."

The bottom line: When the fight reaches your backyard, the terms of the project, the credibility of the company and residents' feelings about being heard can matter more than the industry's best talking points.