OpenAI plans post-midterm push to reshape the AI debate in Washington

The ChatGPT maker is preparing a policy and PR campaign, including a rebrand of data centers as AI compute campuses OpenAI is preparing a policy and public relations campaign to launch right after Tuesday’s midterm elections, according to Axios. The goal is to get the company in step with a Washington that may look very different by Wednesday morning. One piece of the plan is a vocabulary change. OpenAI wants data centers to be called “AI compute campuses” instead. A friendlier White House, a tougher Congress The timing is deliberate. Axios reports that AI companies have enjoyed two years of a friendly White House, and that Democrats will likely win the House on Tuesday. OpenAI is also looking past the midterms. Axios notes the company wants to help frame the AI conversation for the large field of 2028 presidential hopefuls expected to start taking shape the day after the vote. The groundwork OpenAI has already laid The post-election push builds on several months of positioning. On September 9, 2026, Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, laid out the company’s AI policy goals. Those goals included mandatory national AI safety rules. Lehane also signaled support for f...