An analysis found that candidates pledging to halt data center construction could win gubernatorial elections in as many as 15 of 36 U.S. states holding races. In five states including Texas, both Republican and Democratic candidates favor halting data center construction.
Where
Statewide
When
Nov. 1, 2026
Sources
Reported by 2 outlets
Taxes and money
None stated in sources.
Who's involved
The Informationconducted analysis of candidates' pledges
Politico and Public First Globalconducted poll on candidate support
Greg AbbottGovernor of Texas; suspended data center approvals
Kathy HochulGovernor of New York; suspended data center approvals
Tina KotekGovernor of Oregon; suspended data center approvals
OpenAIplanning Stargate data center project
Anthropiccited moratoriums as business risk in IPO filing
The facts
The Information analysis found data center halt backers could win in as many as 15 of 36 gubernatorial races.12Stated by 2 sources
At least one candidate supports halting data center construction in 21 of 36 states holding gubernatorial races.2
In five states—Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, and Texas—both Republican and Democratic candidates favor halting data center construction.2
Governor Greg Abbott suspended approvals for new data centers in Texas.2
OpenAI and Oracle are building the Stargate data center project in Texas, Michigan, and New Mexico.2
Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia have secured Texas sites for AI infrastructure.2
Anthropic cited Texas and New York moratoriums as business risks in its IPO filing.2
Who said what
These are statements and claims made by the people involved. They are reported, not verified.
Politico/Public First Global poll 47% of respondents more likely to support Democratic candidate opposing data centers; 22% favored supporter.2
Politico/Public First Global poll 36% of respondents leaned toward Republican candidate opposed to data centers; 24% backed a supporter.2
OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane OpenAI plans to redefine data centers as AI compute campuses after the midterms.2
How they headlined it
The same event, as each outlet put it. Marked words appear in only one outlet's headline.
Candidates Backing Data Center Pauses Could Win in Up to 15 Governor’s Races
These outlets were found through Google News headlines. Google decides which outlets appear there, and they lean mostly one way, so this sheet can only be as balanced as the reporting it was built from. Leanings are AllSides Media Bias Ratings.
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