US Voters Back Data Centre Curbs as Democrats Prepare to Question Tech Chiefs

According to Ballotpedia figures cited by Axios, 41 data centre measures were on ballots across 10 states. Initial returns suggest that about two dozen of the proposals meant to restrict or block development passed. Ohio held the largest share of these contests, and results are still due in places including Arkansas and North Dakota.

Texas Changes The Arithmetic

The most consequential result for the build-out came in Texas. Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa won the governor's race after campaigning to keep a moratorium on data centre construction until the state passes legislation on water, electricity, air and property rights. The legislative session that would handle that ends in mid-2027.

Texas accounts for 41 per cent of new US data centre capacity expected in 2028, according to research firm SemiAnalysis, as cited by Axios. Most facilities due in 2027 are already being built. A pause longer than six months, however, would mean extended delays in the state at the centre of the boom.

Democrats also won Ohio, Georgia and Arizona, the three states that rank next for new capacity. Axios reported that the winners in Ohio and Georgia favour restrictive policies, though how those will work in practice is not yet clear. Across these states, nearly two-thirds of 2028 data centre capacity could face delays, the outlet said, but most political analysts do not expect Democrats to block construction permanently.

Not every result went against the technology sector. California's Proposition 40, which would have imposed a 5 per cent wealth tax on individuals and trusts with more than $1 billion in assets, appeared headed for defeat early on Wednesday. Tech figures and prominent Democrats, including Governor Gavin Newsom, had opposed it.

Oversight Comes Next

In Washington, the shift in control brings subpoena power. Semafor reported that Democrats were calling for both chambers to use it before results were final. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, referring to Big Tech executives, wrote on X that "they are going to need to plant new forests for all of the subpoenas we'll be printing."

Representative Robert Garcia of California, who is set to chair the House Oversight Committee, told Republicans to "lawyer up", according to Semafor. Representative Greg Casar of Texas, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called for AI chief executives to testify under oath.

Candidates also tested how well anti-AI messages work with voters. Axios reported that Democratic challengers unseated Republicans in Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona and Pennsylvania after ads attacked incumbents for a 2025 vote that would have weakened state AI laws. Candidates backed by AI safety advocates, including Colorado's Manny Rutinel and Minnesota's Matt Little, won or were on course to win.

"What we just witnessed was an AI earthquake," Brad Carson, co-founder of Americans for Responsible Innovation, told Axios. Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia, re-elected by a wide margin, said in his victory speech that "the titans of Silicon Valley" warn their technology risks human extinction while they "dig bunkers for themselves".

Why It Matters Beyond The US

The hyperscalers, chipmakers and sovereign investors funding US AI capacity have so far planned around supply chains, power and grid connections. These results add state politics to that list, at least through the Texas legislative session in 2027 and probably into the 2028 presidential race. Some of that capital comes from Gulf funds and Gulf-backed developers. For any company whose plans depend on US data centres coming online in 2028, local permitting in Texas, Ohio, Georgia and Arizona is now a planning risk in its own right.