Voter referendum backlash, grid connection queues and delays: Amid a nationwide political backlash, has the "AI trade" come to an end?

US voters in 41 state and local ballots on November 3 delivered a sharp rebuke to AI data-center expansion, with exit polling showing 76% oppose new facilities in their own communities, while Democrats won the Texas governorship and control of Georgia's utility regulator. The immediate market reaction was severe: the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) fell about 10% in a single session and sits 37% below its record high, the Nasdaq dropped 4.6%, and Vertiv plunged 14%, while Digital Realty and Equinix—which hold existing powered capacity—fell only 4-5% and remain roughly 13% off highs. The article argues the selloff misprices the shock: about 87 GW of US data-center capacity is already under construction for delivery by end-2027, with 7 GW net added in October alone, though Texas new starts slowed to 0.6 GW from 3.4 GW in September. The real exposure is the 2028-2030 pipeline, where stranded capacity has hit a record 61 GW (about 13% of planned projects, up 9 GW in October alone) and an initial industry model cut forward deliveries by roughly 11%, with 31 GW of 51 GW slated for 2027 already pushed to 2028 or later. The takeaway is that demand is intact but the buildout is being repriced toward incumbents with power in hand; watch whether local opposition can halt projects already under construction, as in Ashville, Ohio, where 82% voted to revoke an approved campus.