Voters back data center limits in midterms, with Texas flipping to Democrats who favor pauses

Voters across the US backed candidates and ballot measures that favor tighter limits on data center development in Tuesday's midterms. NBC News found that 76 percent of voters polled on Election Day opposed data centers in their communities, according to The Verge.

Redbud Consulting tracked local ballot measures. The Verge reported that, as of Wednesday morning, 33 of 45 would restrict development. Ars Technica, citing the same tracker, counted 38 of 44 measures across 10 states passing. Examples include a 180-day moratorium in Wells, Maine, a ban on data centers above 25MW in several Ohio cities, and a 10-year ban above 10MW in El Dorado, Kansas.

In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa won the governor's race over incumbent Republican Greg Abbott, and Democrat James Talarico won the Senate seat over Ken Paxton. MIT Technology Review reports Democrats also take the Texas House for the first time in 24 years. Hinojosa has called for a statewide moratorium. Democrats also won governor races in Arizona, Georgia and Ohio, Ars Technica reported.

Texas is the center of the AI buildout. MIT Technology Review notes the Stargate Frontier site in Shackelford County is projected at 1,820 megawatts, and Nexus Hubbard, aimed mostly at Anthropic, at 6,400 megawatts. Bloomberg, cited by Ars Technica, put about 13 gigawatts of capacity at risk. Gordon Johnson of GLJ Research expects projects lacking state environmental permits to slip 12 to 18 months.

The results are contested. Ars Technica reports that Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich argues that Democratic gubernatorial candidates who opposed data center bans won at a higher rate than those who supported them. The Verge also notes that Byron Donalds won in Florida opposing an outright ban and Rob Sand won in Iowa opposing a moratorium. NBC exit polls ranked cost of living and corruption above AI as voter concerns.

Following through may be hard. MIT Technology Review says decisions involve cities, counties and state offices, that Texas counties with heavy data center activity voted differently, and that construction unions that backed some Democrats may resist a moratorium.

The key question is whether a Texas moratorium materializes and how long it lasts. Analysts quoted by Ars Technica expect at least slower permitting and more concessions from developers, such as limits on tax incentives and rules on who pays for grid and water costs.

Some projects may move to other states such as Louisiana or Georgia, according to the coverage, though Democrats won in Georgia as well.