After the midterms, is the AI industry in for a rough two years?

U.S. midterm voters approved stricter data center rules in 40 of 41 ballot measures, a sweep that could slow the buildout underpinning the AI industry. The votes signal broad public resistance to the power, water and land demands of data centers even as AI companies race to expand capacity. The results matter because AI growth depends on rapid infrastructure construction, and local permitting is emerging as a binding constraint alongside chip supply. Watch whether developers pivot to friendlier jurisdictions, negotiate community benefit deals, or face rising costs and delays that ripple through AI capacity plans.