Blue Wave Topples Regime, Data Centre Projects Could Come to a Complete Halt

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — Data centre construction in the United States is coming under political pressure after the Democratic Party scored major gains in the midterm elections.

Several Democratic politicians have immediately called for a temporary halt to data centre construction and the development of artificial intelligence (AI). They argue that the expansion of technology infrastructure risks damaging the environment, eroding jobs and threatening humanity’s future.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is among those making the call. In a post on social media platform X, Sanders highlighted referendum results in several parts of the US on Tuesday that approved restrictions on data centre construction.

Sanders, who is aligned with the Democratic Party, said the results sent a clear message to political leaders.

“Now for a national moratorium on data centres,” Sanders wrote, according to CNBC International on Friday (6 November 2026).

“The American people do not want Big Tech oligarchs destroying the environment, eroding jobs and threatening the future of humanity,” he added.

A similar call came from US Representative Yassamin Ansari of Arizona. In a post on X, Ansari said a pause in AI development should be one of the top priorities for the Democrats’ House majority from day one.

Representative Greg Casar of Texas, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, shared the post and expressed his support, writing: “Yes!”

AI and data centres were also an important factor for voters in deciding how to vote. According to the CNBC Voter Poll, 56% of voters said AI and data centres were important or very important factors in their decisions at the ballot box.

Of those voters, 65% said they voted for Democratic congressional candidates.

The political sentiment also affected shares in companies linked to AI expansion. The sector’s shares fell slightly on Wednesday after the election, before selling pressure intensified on Thursday as investors worried that Democratic gains could directly affect data centre construction.

Semiconductor shares led the declines. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) plunged nearly 9% on Tuesday. Nvidia shares fell 8%, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) dropped by more than 14%.

Several Democratic politicians who won closely contested races have also openly criticised major technology companies and data centre construction.

Annie Andrews, a South Carolina Democrat who won a Senate seat in Tuesday’s election, had previously launched a campaign website calling her opponent, Senator Darline Graham, “data centre Darline”.

In her victory speech on Tuesday, Andrews said voters wanted a South Carolina where decisions affecting communities were made by local residents, not billionaires or data centre companies in Washington, DC.

“We chose a South Carolina where decisions about our communities are made by the people who live in those communities, not by billionaires or data centre companies in Washington, DC,” Andrews said.

Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown expressed a similar position. Brown returned to the Senate after defeating Republican incumbent Senator Jon Husted.

In his victory speech, Brown declared: “I don’t work for data centres.”

Texas is one of the states in the spotlight on this issue. The state is home to 27% of the total planned data centre capacity in the US, according to Wells Fargo data.

Gina Hinojosa, the Democrat who defeated Republican incumbent Governor Greg Abbott, did not directly address data centres in her victory speech. However, the issue was a significant part of her campaign.

In a video posted to her X account in late October, Hinojosa openly pledged to halt approvals for data centre construction if elected governor.

“When I become governor, I will issue a moratorium—a ban on all data centre approvals until legislation can be passed by the legislature to protect Texans,” Hinojosa said.

“This is about one fight. Will Texas belong to the people and be for the people, or is this a world of billionaires and we just live in it? Data centres are part of that fight,” she added.