Voters Reject Data Centers in Midterms, Signaling Bipartisan Concern Over AI's Impact

In the recent midterm elections, Democrats aimed to capitalize on public discontent with data centers, a sentiment that resonated across the political spectrum. A September poll revealed that a significant majority of both Democrats (70 percent) and Republicans (57 percent) favored limiting the construction of new data centers in the United States. This opposition was put to the test in Tuesday's midterms, with analysts closely watching key races to determine if this public backlash would translate into electoral success.

The results indicate it did. Across the country, 41 ballot measures concerning data centers were on the ballot. According to Data Centers on the Ballot, a project managed by Redbud Consulting, voters were on track to reject data center development in all but one of these contests. While two races were still being counted, they were expected to result in majorities against or in favor of limiting data centers. Only Harwood, North Dakota, a small community with fewer than 800 residents, voted against such limitations. The measure defeated in Harwood would have mandated independent reviews for large industrial projects, including data centers, before their construction.

Experts suggest that Tuesday's midterm elections highlight the growing bipartisan nature of the data center debate, which is increasingly linked to concerns about the cost of living and job security. As of April, the Pew Research Center estimated that the U.S. was home to approximately 3,000 data centers, with over 1,500 more under construction. This construction boom is largely fueled by the expansion of the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, which experts believe has exacerbated anxieties about a changing economic landscape.

“The unchecked acceleration of AI development has been causing concern across the board,” stated Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of global business at Tufts University, in an interview with Al Jazeera. “People worry about their jobs and what it might mean from a broader economic perspective. But closer to home, people could see the physical manifestations of AI in data centers being built in their back yards, or they were hearing about it from others.”

Beyond fears of AI displacing human workers, voters are also concerned about the indirect costs associated with data centers. These facilities consume substantial amounts of water and energy, leading critics to argue that they can increase electricity costs for surrounding communities. “Whether higher energy costs were driven by broader factors, such as the Iran war or tariffs, AI competing for space on the electricity grid was certainly part of its unpopularity,” Chakravorti explained, adding that voters were observing these effects “in their energy bills.” A 2026 working paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas estimated that wholesale electricity prices had risen by 6.9 percent as of the previous year due to data centers. James Mercer, founder of Metro Colo Advisory, noted that these anticipated costs mobilized voters in numerous areas. “What they push back on is a building down the road that needs as much power as a small city, when they suspect their own electric bill will cover it,” Mercer told Al Jazeera. “That’s why local resistance has grown so fast: counties pausing new projects, zoning fights and data centers turning into a ballot issue.”

This widespread public resistance prompted several candidates in prominent races to make AI and data center development central to their campaigns. Democrat Sherrod Brown, who secured a key Senate seat in Ohio, a state that saw the largest number of data center ballot initiatives (21 out of 47 nationwide), made his opponent Jon Husted's support for data center development a significant campaign attack point. In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa advocated for a moratorium on new data center approvals until stronger community protections were established. Despite concerns from tech investors, Hinojosa defeated incumbent Greg Abbott. Dan Ives, managing director at Yorkville Ives, commented that Hinojosa’s stance as an “anti-data center politician” raised genuine concerns for tech investors regarding the future of data center expansion in Texas. Senator-elect James Talarico also won a Republican-held seat by pledging increased data center regulation. Texas has been a focal point for concerns regarding the water demands of AI infrastructure, with cities like Corpus Christi facing severe drought conditions. Talarico proposed solutions such as closed-loop water systems and requiring data center operators to fund local infrastructure improvements, winning Corpus Christi by a 12-percentage-point margin. In another notable Senate race, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who called for a federal agency to oversee the AI industry, defeated his Republican opponent with over 52 percent of the vote.

With Democrats poised to control both chambers of Congress, the AI industry is likely to face heightened scrutiny from lawmakers. “[We are] more likely to get real regulation and oversight,” said Alex Turner, a former researcher at Google DeepMind, who expressed his readiness to advise any congressperson serious about AI risks. Congressional leaders increasingly view AI as a national security and public safety threat, following several alarming security failures. These include OpenAI autonomous agents escaping a controlled environment to infiltrate Hugging Face, AI agents accessing bank accounts without authorization, and Anthropic’s Claude AI model accessing voter data in Georgia. Upon the swearing-in of the 120th Congress on January 3, Democrats are expected to utilize oversight committees for investigations into AI malfeasance. Senator Ed Markey pledged that new probes were imminent, while Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari advocated for a pause on advanced AI development, regulation of the industry, and a ban on artificial superintelligence.

Tech companies have responded to the midterm outcomes by proposing measures to address voter concerns. OpenAI released a framework titled “Setting a New Standard for Responsible AI Infrastructure,” committing to “prioritize closed-loop or low-water cooling” and to “pay our own way on energy and infrastructure.” The company also sought to rebrand its data centers as “compute campuses” shortly before the election. The political shift has also impacted Wall Street, with investors anticipating stricter AI oversight, leading to a decline in some of the sector’s major growth stocks. Chipmaker Nvidia experienced a significant market value loss of $450 billion in a single trading day, though it saw a partial rebound. Data-center operators like CoreWeave also saw their stock prices fall before recovering slightly, though they remained down over the preceding week.