Voters Punish Pro-Data Center Candidates in 2026 Midterms
Original: The Results Are In: Voters Hate Data Centers
Why This Matters
Data center opposition emerging as an electoral force could reshape AI infrastructure policy nationwide.
In the 2026 US midterm elections, candidates backed by data center interests lost across multiple races. Nearly two-thirds of voters told NBC News data centers influenced their vote, signaling broad public backlash against the AI infrastructure buildout.
Election night 2026 delivered a string of defeats for data center-aligned candidates up and down the ballot. In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown flipped a Senate seat after months of ads tagging his opponent as 'the face of data centers.' In New Hampshire, Democrat Chris Pappas—set to become the first openly gay male senator—drew crowd cheers for his anti-data center stance in his victory speech. Two Republican House incumbents in Ohio and Wisconsin, branded 'Data Center Derek' and 'DC Derrick' by opponents, also lost their seats.
The sharpest surprises came in governor's races. Democrats Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia and Gina Hinojosa in Texas—both major national hubs for data center development—won on platforms calling for industry moratoriums. A third candidate, Cindy Holscher, was on the cusp of victory in Kansas on a similar platform. Such pauses could jeopardize hundreds of planned facilities in those states.
NBC News exit polling found roughly a quarter of voters called data centers 'crucial' to their vote. Democratic strategist Alexander McCoy noted the issue is inseparable from AI anxiety: 'You can address all of the different concerns with regards to energy, noise, or pollution, and there would still be significant concerns about what these projects are enabling.' Texas Rep. Greg Casar called the backlash 'just the early tremor of a much bigger AI earthquake upending American politics.'