Data center developers are facing a more restrictive building environment following the 2026 midterm elections, where voters across the country expressed significant opposition to the expansion of these facilities. According to an NBC News poll conducted on Election Day, 76 percent of voters said they opposed data centers in their communities. Many local communities voted directly to restrict development through ballot measures, and several elected officials now support moratoriums on such projects.
In response to this backlash, tech companies are attempting to adjust their strategies. OpenAI announced new commitments to communities where it is working on data center projects, stating it will no longer use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with public officials. The company says it will now allow "only narrow protections covering legitimate security information, trade secrets, or proprietary or competitively sensitive information." Similarly, Amazon announced in October that it would no longer use NDAs with government agencies it works with on data center projects.
The political landscape for data centers is shifting toward more oversight. Democratic leaders are calling for further restrictions and slowdowns. In Texas, Democratic Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa has called for a moratorium on data center development, while Democratic Senator-elect James Talarico has favored ending tax incentives and creating an "AI dividend" for Americans to share in profits. In Ohio, NBC News projects that Democrat Sherrod Brown will win back his former Senate seat from Republican Jon Husted, whom Brown had labeled "the face of data centers." A leaked August memo from the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned that if Husted loses and data centers get the blame, politicians across the country will "not go near the next one."
Environmental and community concerns remain a primary driver of this opposition. In Utah, residents protested after Box Elder County commissioners signed off on a data center expected to consume more than double the state’s peak electricity demand in 2025 and spread hot air in the surrounding desert valley. In Maine, the rapid expansion of resource-hungry data centers became a volatile campaign issue, with an audience member at a midterm debate shouting that "AI data centers are destroying our climate. They are poisoning our water."
