Data center opposition emerged as a major force in the 2026 US elections, helping Democrats win key races and electing candidates who campaigned for tougher rules, moratoriums and greater oversight of the industry. The results represent a political setback for data center developers, particularly in Georgia and Texas, two of the country’s largest development hubs.
Data center concerns shape Senate and House races
In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown won his Senate race, flipping the seat after airing advertisements that for months described his opponent as “the face of Ohio’s data centers.”
Democrat Chris Pappas also won his race and will become the nation’s first openly gay male senator when seated. In his victory speech, Pappas spoke about his opposition to data centers, drawing loud boos from the crowd even though New Hampshire does not have any large data centers under construction. Watch his comments.
Elsewhere, two Republican candidates named Derek and Derrick—dubbed “Derek of Data Centers” and “Derrick of DC” by their Democratic opponents—lost House races in Ohio and Wisconsin.
Voters cite data centers as an election issue
As part of the election’s broader Democratic gains, voters chose candidates at multiple levels of government who ran on stricter data center policies. The results amount to a clear rebuke of the industry’s rapid expansion across states throughout the country.
Almost a quarter of voters told NBC News that data centers were “very important” to their vote, while nearly two-thirds said the issue was either a major or minor factor.
“The data center revolt was one of the most important issues in the 2026 election, but in a few years we will look back on it as just the first tremor of a larger AI earthquake that will upend American politics,” said Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, in a statement.
“Data centers and AI as a technology are fundamentally connected in the minds of many voters,” said Alexander McCoy, a Democratic strategist who works on AI. “So while we can address all the different concerns around data center energy, noise and pollution, there will still be significant concerns about what these projects are enabling and the impact they are having on opportunities, affordability, jobs and society.”
Governors campaign on data center moratoriums
Some of the industry’s biggest setbacks came in gubernatorial contests. In major upsets, voters elected Democrats Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia and Gina Hinojosa in Texas, while Cindy Holscher has a strong chance of winning in Kansas.
All three candidates campaigned for a moratorium on data centers and stronger regulation of the industry. A suspension of data center development in Texas and Georgia could affect hundreds of projects planned in each state, with both states serving as major hubs for new facilities.
“I think tax incentives are coming to an end, and it’s clear that people like Greg Abbott have been harmed by the history of giving these financial incentives to AI companies and data center developers,” McCoy said.
“I think we’ll probably see regulators appointed in various government departments to increase oversight of these projects and strengthen enforcement of environmental protection regulations.”
Source: www.wired.com