Following the Democratic Party's major victories in Tuesday's midterm elections, some Democrats have already signaled their intention to take action against the expansion of the artificial intelligence industry, particularly targeting data center construction.
Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders posted on social media, stating that voters across the United States approved restrictions on data centers through local ballot measures on Tuesday. Sanders, who caucuses with the Democrats, said these results send a very clear message to political leaders.
"Pause all national data center construction immediately," he wrote in his post. "The American people do not want big tech oligarchs destroying the environment, eroding jobs, and threatening humanity's future."
Arizona Democratic Representative Yassamin Ansari also posted that the Democratic majority in the new House of Representatives should make pausing artificial intelligence development a top priority from day one.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair and Texas Democratic Representative Greg Casar reposted this message and said: "Exactly!"
According to voter surveys, 56% of voters said artificial intelligence and data centers were a key or important factor in their voting decisions. Among these voters, 65% said they voted for Democratic congressional candidates.
On Wednesday, stocks related to artificial intelligence industry expansion fell slightly following the election results, but selling pressure intensified further on Thursday, with investors worried that Democratic victories could substantially impact data center construction.
Chip stocks led the decline. NVIDIA fell 8%, while AMD dropped more than 14%.
Democrats who won key elections on Tuesday also directed their criticism at big tech companies and data centers.
South Carolina Democrat Annie Andrews won a Senate seat in that state on Tuesday. During the campaign, she created a website that labeled her opponent, Senator Darline Graham, as "Data Center Darline."
In her victory speech on Tuesday, Andrews said voters chose a South Carolina where "community affairs should be decided by the people who live in those communities, not by billionaires in Washington, D.C., or data center corporations."
Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown defeated Republican incumbent Senator Jon Husted on Tuesday and is set to return to the Senate. In his victory speech, he said: "I don't work for data centers."
Democratic governors also criticized data center construction in their victory speeches. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order in August aimed at slowing data center development. He said big tech companies should not decide the future of local residents.
"Instead, the final decision should rest with the people in our local communities."
For data center construction, Texas may be the most important state. According to Wells Fargo data, the state accounts for 27% of total planned data center capacity in the United States.
Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican incumbent Governor Greg Abbott, but she did not directly address the data center issue in her victory speech, even though the topic played an important role in her campaign.
In a video posted on social media in late October, she said: "When I become governor, I will issue a moratorium prohibiting the approval of all data center projects until the state legislature passes laws to protect Texas residents."
She also said: "This is really about a struggle: Is Texas a state of the people, by the people, or is it a world belonging to billionaires where we merely live in it? Data centers are part of this struggle."
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