Data centers lost the midterms
Data center developers are poised to face a more restrictive building environment after voters across the country voted in candidates who favor moratoriums and ballot measures that put more obstacles on their expansion, delivering a stinging blow to a central pillar of the AI industry. Of voters polled by NBC News on Election Day, 76 […]
Midterm elections saw a backlash against unrestrained development, particularly data centers, as voters opted for candidates who favored moratoriums and measures to hinder their expansion. Exit polls indicated that 76% of NBC News poll respondents disapproved of data centers in their communities. Several local communities directly restricted development via ballot measures, and Democratic Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa of Texas and Michigan's Democratic Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed have pledged support for moratoriums on development.
While there were outliers, such as Republican Rep. Byron Donalds who won in Florida, other victors like Hinojosa and El-Sayed were compelled to address data center issues during their campaigns. Voters faced direct questions about data centers in 45 local ballot measures nationwide, with 33 of them resulting in restrictions on development.
In Maine, the Town of Wells imposed a 180-day moratorium on large data centers, and Ohio cities voted to ban data centers exceeding 25MW. In Kansas, El Dorado restricted data centers with a peak electrical load over 10MW to 10 years. The election results also had implications for Congress, with Democratic State Rep. James Talarico flipping Texas blue and opposing tax exemptions and energy infrastructure costs for data centers.
Republican Rep. Byron Donalds won the governor's seat in Florida, while Democratic incumbent Governor Josh Shapiro retained his position in Pennsylvania, though both showed a tougher stance against data centers.
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