For the past year, a faction of the AI industry bent on unfettered development looked poised to use its wealth to tip the 2026 midterms in its favor.
asserted
faction → bend → favor
But on Nov. 3, that accelerationist wing could hardly have had a worse night.
uncertain
wing → have → night
An NBC exit poll found that 56% of voters said that AI and data centers were a “crucial or major factor” in their vote for Congress.
asserted
AI → find → Congress
Democrats spent more than $100 million on broadcast ads casting their Republican opponents as being overly cozy with Big Tech and data centers—and decisively won in many of those races, including Ohio, Kansas, and Iowa.
asserted
Democrats → spend → Ohio
Data center bans or moratoriums passed in counties across the country, from Edgewater, Fla., to Bloomington, Ill., while the mayors of Piqua, Ohio and Yukon, Oklahoma were recalled for their previous support of data center projects.
asserted
mayors → pass → projects
Data center and accelerationist super PACs failed to make a major dent in influencing elections through spending.
asserted
PACs → fail → spending
One of the key candidates they spent money on, Darline Graham, lost to Annie Andrews, who nicknamed Graham “Data Center Darline” and called for a two-year moratorium on new projects.
asserted
who → spend → projects
The accelerationists' ineffectiveness opened a pathway for “pro-safety” PACs to outspend them in key races.
asserted
PACs → open → races
Several candidates backed by those groups, including Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed and Colorado’s Manny Rutinel, won.
asserted
candidates → back → Sayed
Even with both chambers, Democrats need substantial Republican support to pass over a potential Presidential veto.
asserted
Democrats → need → veto
But this election served as the stunning capstone in a year of mounting anti-AI populism, during which Donald Trump has spurred on the industry and said that opponents of data centers “want to end up being backwards and poor.”
asserted
opponents → serve → centers
Now, Congress could haul executives before committees to answer questions and undo Republican efforts to block state-level laws.
uncertain
Congress → haul → laws
Even without law change, politicians may think twice before siding with the AI industry.
uncertain
politicians → think → industry
“Voters had their say tonight: they are overwhelmingly in support of AI safety and security, and very much against data centers and flock cameras,” says Brendan Steinhauser, a Republican strategist and the CEO of The Alliance for Secure AI.
asserted
Steinhauser → have → AI
“The AI industry is going to have to get ready to deal with it because I think there's a big deluge of bills at the state and federal level coming their way.”
Data centers became a political liability
Americans would rather live near a prison, methadone clinic, or a nuclear power plant than an AI data center, according to comparative polling done by progressive research firm Blue Rose Research.
uncertain
Americans → go → Research
Existential concerns about AI have grown, says Ali Mortell, the firm’s director of research, but data centers’ concrete local impacts—including higher energy bills, noise, and environmental concerns—were far more salient.
asserted
impacts → grow → bills
Accordingly, Democratic candidates who opposed data centers more strongly than their opponents won in many races.
asserted
who → oppose → races
In Ohio, Senator-elect Sherrod Brown ran millions of dollars of ads calling Husted “the face of data centers in Ohio."
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Brown → run → Ohio
Brown won by five percentage points.
asserted
Brown → win → points
The National Republican Senatorial Committee even acknowledged that Husted’s ties to the industry were a problem, writing in an August memo that “more than any other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck.”
asserted
centers → acknowledge → neck
In Kansas, Cindy Holscher led in the governor’s race on Wednesday morning after running an ad calling for a pause on data centers until Kansas set guardrails to protect its communities, farms, jobs, and budgets.
asserted
Kansas → lead → communities
Her opponent Ty Masterson had received $1.5 million from a data center super PAC.
asserted
opponent → receive → PAC
In Arizona, Democrat Amish Shah, who pledged to “stop data centers from being built,” led Jay Feely, who said American data centers were necessary to beat China in the global AI race, on Wednesday morning.
asserted
centers → pledge → morning
Comparisons suggesting that U.S. data centers use less water than the nation’s golf courses have done little to reassure voters.
asserted
centers → suggest → voters
Developers’ promises to cover higher energy bills soften opposition but win few supporters.
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promises → cover → supporters
Trust in institutions is low, so when tech companies and politicians offer reassurance, Mortell says, “voters are not positioned to believe that's true.”
asserted
that → offer → reassurance
An October Politico poll found that nearly half of Americans identify Republicans as the party most eager to build data centers.
asserted
half → find → centers
But Democrats could find themselves on the other side of the backlash.
uncertain
Democrats → find → backlash
In Wisconsin, Republican Tom Tiffany derisively called his opponent “Data Center David Crowley.”
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Tiffany → call → opponent
Crowley shifted toward tighter restrictions in October—and won.
asserted
Crowley → shift → October
“There's not a clear divide between Democratic voters and Republican voters on how they're thinking about [data centers].
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they → be → centers
Opinion has soured with everyone,” Mortell says.
asserted
Mortell → sour → everyone
AI money backed both sides
AI accelerationists also struggled to translate their considerable campaign contributions into electoral victories.
asserted
accelerationists → back → victories
The super PAC Leading the Future was created with more than $100 million in funding to support pro-AI candidates in August 2025.
asserted
PAC → lead → August
But because public skepticism of the AI industry has become so widespread, the PAC's financial contributions were met with backlash, creating headaches for candidates who received the money.
asserted
who → become → money
According to one survey, three-quarters of likely voters said that they would be less likely to vote for a candidate if they found out they had accepted a donation from an AI super PAC.
uncertain
they → accord → PAC
As the general election approached, big donors like OpenAI’s Greg Brockman and Ron Conway backed away from previously promised donations, and Leading the Future mostly kept their powder dry.
asserted
Future → approach → powder
Elon Musk didn’t fare well either.
asserted
Musk → fare → ?
The AI leader was the biggest donor in this cycle at $446 million, $168 million of which effectively went to supporting Ken Paxton in Texas.
asserted
million → go → Texas
But Paxton was crushed by James Talarico, who has called for the ending of "sweetheart tax deals" for Big Tech and other guardrails.
asserted
who → crush → Tech
…and 30 more, not listed.
The Aporia
