The November 2026 midterms produced a Democratic sweep of both the Senate and the House, flipping longtime Republican strongholds including Texas and Georgia. A defining theme was the backlash against data centers. Voters weighed in on 45 local ballot measures, and 33 of them restrict data center development; Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa and Georgia Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms both campaigned on moratoria, and Michigan's newly elected Senator Abdul El-Sayed supports a moratorium as well ([theverge.com](https://www.theverge.com/policy/1026365/data-centers-midterms-results)). Texas alone accounts for roughly a quarter of planned US data center capacity, according to Goldman Sachs and GLJ Research ([investing.com](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/analysistrumps-m
The AI boom has fueled a massive US data center build-out, but the projects have become politically toxic with neighbors, who cite noise, water use, electricity costs, light pollution, and generous tax breaks for relatively few local jobs. NBC News exit polling found 76% of voters opposed data centers in their communities ([theverge.com](https://www.theverge.com/policy/1026365/data-centers-midterms-results)). The election results add to investor anxiety about AI spending that has yet to deliver strong returns — the Nasdaq has slid about 8% over the past month. Analysts expect a Democratic-led
Democrats swept the 2026 midterms, taking control of both the Senate and House. Data centers were a major political casualty: voters faced 45 local ballot measures nationwide, and 33 of them restrict development, while Texas and Georgia elected Democratic governors who campaigned on moratoria ([theverge.com](https://www.theverge.com/policy/1026365/data-centers-midterms-results)). Data center stocks fell — Core Scientific down 2.8%, Iren down 1.4% — while clean-energy shares surged ([investing.com](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/ai-data-center-stocks-dip-renewables-surge-af
BPolitico's headline this morning: data centers are the midterms' other big loser.
BThat's a strange way to put it. The other big loser? What do they mean?
BThirty-three of forty-five local ballot measures across the country just voted to restrict data center construction. Texas and Georgia elected governors who campaigned on moratoria.
BOkay, that's a real shift. Why are voters so angry at server farms?
BNoise, water use, electricity bills, light pollution. And tax breaks that bring relatively few local jobs. NBC's exit poll says seventy-six percent oppose one in their community.
BBut these data centers are the backbone of the AI boom. If you throttle them, you throttle the economy.
BThat's exactly what the analysts are warning. One strategist called it a referendum on AI, not on Trump. If AI is restricted, growth hits the brakes.
BI think locals have a right to decide what gets built in their backyard. A moratorium isn't killing AI; it's saying not here.
BBut that's the problem—'not here' becomes 'nowhere.' Texas alone has about a quarter of planned US data center capacity. If every community says no, there's no build-out.
BThen the industry needs to solve the water and power problems instead of steamrolling communities. Why should a town accept constant drone and higher electric bills for fifty jobs?
BBecause those fifty jobs support a trillion-dollar industry that funds everything from defense to medicine. And you can't run a data center without water and power—there's no magical fix.
BThere's a fix: build where the grid can handle it, pay your fair share, and stop demanding tax exemptions. Thirty-three communities just said the deal wasn't good enough.
BOr thirty-three communities just handed the advantage to China. If America throttles AI, someone else takes the lead. That's the cost.
BThat's a leap. One local moratorium doesn't hand China the lead.
BNot one—thirty-three. And the governors of two of the biggest growth states ran on stopping them. The signal to investors is clear: build elsewhere.
BThe market can adapt. Clean-energy shares surged today while data center stocks slid. Money finds a way.
BMoney finds a way to leave, you mean.
BThe bigger story is that people finally got a vote on something that's been forced on them by state tax breaks and federal incentives. That's democracy, not China.
BFine—democracy is messy. But the AI race doesn't wait for town halls. We'll see who's right in a year.
BSpeaking of political pressure, here's one from the war in Ukraine.
BWhat now?
BIuliia Mendel—she was Zelenskyy's press secretary—told a German paper 'Zelenskyy does not want the war to end.' That's her quote.
BThat's a huge claim from a former spokesperson. What's her argument?
BShe argues that peace would end his political relevance. That's the gist of the interview, and it's her claim, not established fact.
BThat plays straight into Kremlin propaganda. 'Zelenskyy prolongs the war for power.' I don't buy it.
BShe's not a Kremlin shill; she worked for him. Maybe she knows something.
BOr maybe she's been out of the room for years and is selling a book. Former officials say all kinds of things.
BBut think about it: every ceasefire offer Ukraine has floated comes with conditions Russia rejects. Is that negotiation or theater?
BIt's survival. Russia has broken every single ceasefire. Zelenskyy can't just stop fighting and hope Moscow keeps its word.
BI'm not saying he should surrender. I'm saying her claim deserves more than a shrug. If his own former press secretary says he doesn't want peace, that's worth hearing.
BIt's worth hearing, but it's her opinion. Not fact. And I'd need a lot more than one interview before I believe the man defending his country wants the war to continue.
BFair enough. But it's a reminder that even allies have doubts about how this ends.
BThe only way it ends is with Russia leaving. That's not prolonging; that's not losing.
BDifferent world entirely—Tehran today.
BWhat's happening?
BAl Jazeera reports Iran marked the anniversary of the 1979 US embassy takeover with mass rallies. Officials used the occasion to hail what they called US and Israeli 'defeats' in recent elections and on the battlefield.
BOf course they did. The embassy takeover anniversary is when Tehran always stages these rallies. The 'defeats' line is new spin.
BThey're claiming the American midterms as an Iranian victory. That's rich.
BIt's propaganda, but it matters. Iran reads our elections as weakness. A divided Washington looks like an opportunity.
BOr it's just crowd-pleasing for a domestic audience. The regime needs a win after its economy has been battered.
BBoth can be true. They cheer our dysfunction and use it to tell their people the West is losing.
BNo argument there. But the battlefield 'defeats' part is more worrying—if they're emboldened, proxies could get bolder.
BThat's the real story to watch. Not the rally itself, but what it signals for the next few months.