Data centers took a beating in the midterm elections

What the coverage says

Voters across the country pushed back against the expansion of energy-hungry infrastructure during the midterm elections, delivering what The Verge called the moment when "Data centers lost the midterms." ABC News reported that candidates featured the issue in hundreds of millions of dollars in television ads, and voters subsequently rejected ballot measures and elected officials favoring stricter rules. CNBC and CBS News noted that the results, including Democratic gubernatorial wins, are expected to slow future development amid concerns over local power and water supplies. In response to the backlash, The New York Times and The Verge reported that OpenAI pledged to give locals more say, protect ratepayers, publish construction plans, and drop non-disclosure agreements. Meanwhile, TechCrunch noted that Meta warned the broader political resistance could make future artificial intelligence expansion more difficult.

Written by HeadlineShine from 6 outlets' reporting, with AI assistance. Each outlet's own story is listed alongside.