WASHINGTON — Democratic candidates in competitive districts are largely sticking with their affordability message for the 2026 midterm elections, even as concerns about artificial intelligence and its potential economic and social risks intensify in Washington. The approach reflects a calculation that voters are more focused on the cost of living than on broad debates over AI safety or regulation. Rep. Susie Lee, a Nevada Democrat whose district is considered competitive, said constituents want Congress to establish safeguards for technology that could deepen economic inequality, but added that household expenses remain their chief concern. Lee said she is not planning to run campaign advertisements centered on the recent surge in alarm over AI, at least for now. Other Democratic lawmakers, strategists and pollsters said the party’s candidates are similarly reluctant to replace months of economic messaging with warnings about potential long-term threats from artificial intelligence. At a private Democratic campaign meeting focused on the midterms, lawmakers concentrated on rising costs and responding to Republican-backed attack ads. AI was not a central topic of the discussion, according to people familiar with the meeting. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has criticized President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans for dismissing both affordability concerns and AI risks, but the party’s campaign strategy remains focused primarily on the economy. Some Democrats say voters are beginning to raise AI more frequently. Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts, who is working to shape her party’s approach to AI regulation, said residents have increasingly approached her at grocery stores and public events with concerns about a future in which the technology develops without meaningful oversight. Trahan said people who once viewed AI as a distant issue are now pressing Congress to act, describing the public conversation as having intensified sharply in recent days. The most politically potent AI-related issue for Democrats so far is not abstract regulation but the construction of data centers. The facilities can require large amounts of electricity and water, prompting disputes over utility bills, land use and local infrastructure. Democratic candidates including Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Pennsylvania congressional challenger Bob Harvie are using advertisements to criticize Republican opponents over their positions on data-center development. Democratic operatives also plan to target Virginia Republicans Rob Wittman and Jen Kiggans over data centers, arguing that the facilities represent a concrete way for voters to understand the consequences of the AI boom. Brad Bannon, a Democratic pollster and strategist, said public opinion on AI policy remains less developed than opinion about data centers, particularly because electricity costs connect the issue directly to family budgets. A nationwide survey conducted Sept. 10-14 by Global Strategy Group for Navigator Research found that 60% of voters identified inflation and the cost of living as a top priority for the president and Congress. Sixteen percent selected artificial intelligence. Democratic candidates could adjust their message if conversations with voters in their districts show that AI has become a more immediate concern. For now, however, party leaders are treating data-center fights as a bridge between technology policy and the economic pressures that voters say they feel most directly. That leaves a central tension for Democrats: AI may reshape jobs, privacy, energy demand and economic power, but the party’s candidates are wary of asking voters to prioritize those broader questions while prices remain the dominant concern in competitive races.