In the U.S. midterm elections, Democrats gained control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, in a blue wave that swept through traditionally Republican or contested states. In several campaigns, one theme recurred insistently: the need to hold artificial intelligence companies accountable to the American people, as the sector must now consider possible regulation and a slowdown in data center construction projects.
- Democrats won the House and Senate, and many campaigns demanded tighter oversight of AI companies.
- Voters rejected data centers, as 43 of 44 local moratoriums were approved.
- AI leaders stayed publicly silent while privately worrying about computing limits and weaker revenue.
- Experts expect the results to end federal efforts to block state-level AI restrictions.
Several races marked this movement. In Georgia, the first Black woman was elected governor of the state, and in New Mexico, the first Native American woman was elected to that office. In Maine, a senator who had held his seat for 30 years lost it to a Democrat.
Public Silence, Backstage Concerns
Publicly, most major AI leaders remained quiet. OpenAI and Anthropic did not respond to requests from The Verge. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, had urged on X to vote ‘red’ in the elections, despite having spent nearly $450 million supporting Republican campaigns. This message disappeared after the first results came in.
Privately, according to The Wall Street Journal, executives have raised significant compute capacity constraints, meaning available computing power, particularly at OpenAI. Dina Powell McCormick, president of Meta’s platforms, states that many are considering moving data center construction abroad. According to Business Insider, executives are privately worried about the results, while also being able to blame them for lower-than-expected revenue for investors.
Several incoming officials have promised to summon AI leaders to testify. On X, a widely shared post by Nikita Bier, a former X product lead, states: ‘It will be like the Nuremberg trials, but for AI researchers.’
Data Centers at the Heart of the Debate
Wes McEnany, former deputy labor policy director for the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, now works with the nonprofit Future of Life Institute. For him, the results constitute a ‘total repudiation’ of the sector, because AI touches ‘every aspect of people’s lives.’
The rejection of data centers is arguably the most concrete manifestation of this movement. On ballots, 43 out of 44 local moratoriums were approved. In Texas, the state where data center deployment is advancing fastest, elected Governor Gina Hinojosa stated she wants to ‘issue a moratorium—a ban—on all data center permits until the legislature can pass laws to protect Texans.’ According to an NBC News poll conducted on election day, 76% of voters said they opposed these facilities in their community. ‘Data centers were clearly on the ballot,’ says Guru Sethupathy, head of AI governance at Optro.
Shaunna Thomas, co-founder and director of Guardrails Alliance, a super PAC advocating for AI regulation, calls it ‘one of the most bipartisan’ pushbacks she has ever seen. For Kyle Jacobs-Morse, deputy executive director of The Tech Oversight Project, a tech sector watchdog organization, data centers pave the way for a broader challenge to big tech companies.
Experts believe the results likely end repeated attempts by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans to prevent the adoption of restrictions at the state level. Thomas calls that idea ‘completely dead.’ Donald Trump for his part called the security risk related to AI a ‘hoax,’ stating on Truth Social that ‘the only control or “guardrail” AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART PRESIDENT.’ Adam Kovacevich, founder and CEO of Chamber of Progress, wonders what comes next: ‘Are we going back to the Biden-era war on tech, the Obama-era tech honeymoon, or something in between?’
