Democratic leaders and lawmakers who won the US midterm elections have publicly called for a halt to new AI data center construction and for regulation.
Following Senator Bernie Sanders’ call for a nationwide halt to data center construction, the incoming governor of Texas also pledged to suspend new data center permits until legislation protecting residents is in place. Semiconductor and data center stocks also fell sharply as the prospect emerged of tighter regulation in Texas, a key location for AI infrastructure investment.
According to CNBC on November 5, Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, urged action on X, formerly Twitter: “The message from voters across the United States is clear. We must implement a nationwide data center moratorium right now.” Sanders stated: “Americans will no longer tolerate Big Tech oligarchs destroying the environment, eliminating jobs and threatening the future of humanity.”
Progressives who led the effort to regain a House majority also joined the calls. Democratic Representative Yassamin Ansari said measures temporarily pausing the pace of AI development and infrastructure expansion should be a top priority from the first day of the new congressional session. Representative Greg Casar, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), also expressed agreement and signaled tough legislation.
“Data centers are not facilities for local residents”: an election issue
AI and data centers became decisive issues in key races during the midterm elections. According to a CNBC voter exit poll, 56% of respondents identified AI and data center infrastructure as a “very important or major deciding factor” in their vote, and 65% of those voters supported Democratic candidates.
Candidates who made the proliferation of data centers a campaign issue also won a series of races. Democratic candidate Annie Andrews, who won the South Carolina Senate race, attacked the opposing candidate during the campaign with the label “Data Center Darline.”
In a victory speech, Andrews said: “I will build a South Carolina where decisions about local communities are made directly by the people who live here, not by billionaires in Washington, D.C., or data center companies.” Sherrod Brown, who won a return to the US Senate representing Ohio, also said, “I do not work for data centers,” making clear an intention not to tolerate Big Tech’s unchecked encroachment on the power grid.
Pledges to curb data centers also influenced voters in gubernatorial races. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who issued an executive order in August slowing new data center approvals, reiterated: “Big Tech must not determine residents’ futures, and local community members must have the final say.”
Texas, with 27% of planned US data center capacity, signals a permit freeze as semiconductor stocks fall
Texas is the state to which financial markets are reacting most sensitively. According to an analysis by global financial group Wells Fargo, about 27% of the capacity of data centers planned for new construction in the United States is concentrated in Texas.
Democratic governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, who defeated Republican Governor Greg Abbott in the Texas gubernatorial election, declared shortly before the election: “Immediately upon taking office as governor, I will announce a complete ban on all data center permits until legislation protecting Texas residents passes the state legislature.”
Global capital markets were shaken as the federal legislature and key state governments showed signs of moving simultaneously toward permit restrictions and reduced tax support.
On November 5, as the technology-heavy Nasdaq index fell sharply in New York trading, the iShares Semiconductor ETF, a leading semiconductor exchange-traded fund, plunged about 9% in a single day. Nvidia fell 8%, while AMD dropped more than 14%. In Asian markets, shares in leading companies across the AI hardware supply chain also declined, including Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Japan’s SoftBank Group and Taiwan’s TSMC.
Original Korean article: Impact On
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
