Nov 9, 2026 · 19 min
Voters put data centers at the center of AI’s growth problem
The Biggest Loser of the Midterms? Data Centers
Political resistance to data centers could limit the power and computing capacity AI companies need to expand.
- 1Communities are resisting data centers over utility costs, water use, noise, land demands, and limited long-term employment.
- 2Election results weakened industry confidence that permitted projects will proceed, adding uncertainty to AI companies’ infrastructure plans.
- 3Companies are considering retrofits, smaller facilities, overseas projects, and slower spending as permitting becomes a strategic constraint.
Don't miss
Dina Powell McCormick outlines how companies may negotiate with local officials, pursue projects outside the United States, and hedge infrastructure investments geographically.
The brief
Election results turned data centers from an infrastructure assumption into a political risk, as voters challenged projects tied to higher utility costs, water use, noise, land demands, and limited local employment.
Anissa Gardizy and Ryan Knutson explain why the backlash unsettled AI companies that had expected permitted projects to move forward, even as communities restricted or halted new construction.
The stakes are computational: serving users and training models requires rapidly expanding capacity, so delays could constrain growth and revenue for companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
The industry is weighing retrofits, smaller facilities, overseas projects, and geographic hedges; Dina Powell McCormick described a permitting environment that now demands negotiation and flexibility.
Data centers give communities a direct way to register broader frustration with AI, while political resistance could force an industry-wide reassessment of its spending race.
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