Data centers lost the midterms — SkimNews
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- Data center developers faced widespread voter backlash, as 76% of NBC-poll respondents opposed facilities in their communities and 33 of 45 local ballot measures restricted development.
- Texas voters elected Democratic Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, who supports a statewide moratorium on data centers, flipping a key state with the second-highest number of planned facilities.
- Ohio communities approved bans on data centers over 25MW, while El Dorado, Kansas voters imposed a 10-year ban on facilities with peak loads over 10MW.
- Michigan’s Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed and Wisconsin’s David Crowley won key races with strong stances against unchecked development, though Crowley defeated a primary opponent who backed a moratorium.
- Nevada’s Governor-elect Aaron Ford opposed new tax breaks for data centers, branding incumbent Joe Lombardo 'data center Joe' despite Ford’s past support for such incentives.
- Maine’s Troy Jackson won a Senate seat supporting a state moratorium, following a vetoed legislative attempt to enact the nation’s first such ban in the state.
Why it matters: The coordinated rejection of data center expansion across ballot measures and elections forces tech and energy policymakers to confront localized resistance, shifting the cost and timeline for AI infrastructure. With tax breaks under fire and moratoriums gaining bipartisan traction, developers now face higher regulatory risk and delayed deployment in key states.
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