US voters reject AI data centers: six cities ban them and the Texas governor loses

According to 404 Media, the November 3, 2026 midterm elections delivered a clear rejection of artificial intelligence data centers. The outlet reports that more than 40 votes in 13 states included proposals related to these facilities, and voters came out against them in 38 of those, with counting still underway. Six cities voted to ban them outright, and another 12 set limits on how many megawatts they can use. The piece has a strong editorial slant, and its figures and quotes come from the article itself.

The most striking case is Texas. The state has more than 300 data centers in operation, and there are plans to double that number. Governor Greg Abbott lost his bid for a fourth term. He had promoted the state as a welcoming destination for these projects. In 2025, standing next to Google's CEO, he said Texas was "the epicenter of AI development." The article adds that he accepted more than $9 million from donors tied to the industry.

When public opinion turned against data centers, Abbott announced a "pause" on new projects. According to 404 Media, the pause was not real: regulators kept approving projects and only took down the permit web portal after the outlet reported on it. Democrat Gina Hinojosa, the governor-elect, made Abbott's record on data centers the centerpiece of her campaign. The article says she won by more than 700,000 votes.

The article includes several local examples. In Burgin, Kentucky, mayoral candidate George Hensley, who had voted for a hyperscale project, was the only name on the ballot and lost to a write-in candidate who campaigned against data centers. The original text leaves the winner's last name with a pending editing marker ("TK"), so it is not reproduced here. In Emporia, Kansas, voters approved a ban on high-impact data centers. Police in that town had arrested a teacher for clapping during a city meeting on the issue. In Yukon, Oklahoma, the mayor lost a recall vote after backing a hyperscale project. In Asheville, North Carolina, and San Marcos, Texas, voters elected Kim Rooney and Amanda Rodrigues as mayors, both after campaigns against these facilities.

Michael Whitesides, deputy communications director at Local Progress, a network of local elected officials, read the results as a clear message: people do not see the promised benefits of data centers or of the AI they power. Instead, he said, they see rising costs for basic goods and services, along with effects on air quality and electricity bills. He warned that Big Tech will keep pressuring local officials and hopes these results will give them the confidence to push back. The author sums up the usual complaints: higher electricity bills, heavy water use and the role of data centers as a symbol of Big Tech's power.

The article also mentions Elon Musk, who according to the text spent $500 million on these elections. The figure for Texas appears cut off as "224" with no unit, so it should be treated with caution. After the results, Musk wrote on X: "Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now."

For the industry, the takeaway is that local opposition now carries electoral weight. It has gone from protests at town meetings to bans, consumption limits and defeats for politicians who backed the projects. The article does not give a breakdown of each vote, so it is best to wait for the final count and other sources.