US midterms: data centers, AI and tech money emerge as key issues
In the US midterm congressional elections, tech-industry issues such as data centers, AI regulation and billionaire taxes are on voters' minds. The result will define President Donald Trump's power over his final two years in office.
The US midterm elections on November 3 will determine how much power President Donald Trump retains in his last two years in office and will signal what voters care about ahead of the 2028 presidential race. Affordability is expected to dominate the campaigns, but several topics tied to the tech industry are also on voters' minds: data centers, AI safety and the spread of surveillance technology.
Data center backlash
The rapid buildout of data centers, and the infrastructure and costs that come with it, has sparked local opposition across the country and become a major theme in many congressional and gubernatorial races. In Texas, residents around Austin are fighting several projects. San Marcos became the first city in the state to ban data centers, while the mayor and council members of Temple face recall attempts.
In California, Proposition 45 would shorten timelines for state-mandated environmental assessments of "essential" infrastructure and make it harder to challenge projects in court. Environmental groups warn that data center developers could benefit.
Money and regulation
Tech money is flowing into the races. Leading the Future, a super PAC (a political group that can raise unlimited funds) backed by venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, has spent $45 million in a year. Public First Action, backed by Anthropic, says it has raised $80 million. Elon Musk has given at least $276 million to Republican groups since July.
In California, tech billionaires have reportedly donated more than $340 million to fight Proposition 40, which would impose a one-time 5 percent tax on the state's billionaires. Meta's board issued special shares so that Mark Zuckerberg would stay in California for eight years.
If Democrats win back a chamber of Congress, they would control committee agendas and could press AI companies more closely, including by calling CEOs to testify.
