Texas is done with data centers until further notice, new governor says - USA Today

Texas is done with data centers unless the companies behind them prove they will benefit Texans, the Lone Star state’s newly elected Democratic governor said Thursday, Nov. 5.

"What has happened is data centers have moved into mostly rural communities, and there are no rules and laws to protect Texans and Texans are being taken advantage of," Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa told CNN. "So the difference is we will have laws to protect Texans, and we need to stop what we are doing with data centers until we have those protections."

Her comments come in the wake of stunning midterm election results that Americans across the country overwhelmingly voted against construction of the sites. Leaders of many communities have lobbied against the centers, decrying them as nuisances that drain local water resources while driving up electricity costs.

Hinojosa and her fellow Democrats’ victories meant overcoming the millions of dollars billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk poured into Texas Republican war chests. Hinojosa said Nov. 5 that Texas can still "have a strong working relationship with Elon Musk and his companies, but it has to be on our terms. It cannot be just running over the people of Texas. And that’s what changes now that I will be governor."

A day earlier after Hinjojosa won the election, Musk posted on X that "data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now." Musk has previously pitched the idea of putting data centers in orbit.

Over 80 data centers are operating in the state, the second most in the country, according to data center tracking group Cleanview. Another 50 are under construction and more than 120 were planned.

Musk, who moved to Texas in 2020 after celebrating the state’s laissez-faire approach to regulation, is not behind all the data centers in the state. But the xAI CEO is a huge proponent of the sites and his support for them was tied to the massive amounts of money he spent trying to ensure Republicans remained in office.

Hinojosa in particular made opposition to data centers central to her campaign, blasting incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott on the campaign trail for his previous comments about the state becoming the "epicenter of AI development."

Abbott later walked back his comments and enacted a statewide moratorium on building data centers. But he failed to win enough voters to stop Hinojosa from becoming the state’s first Democratic governor of this century.

Hinojosa added she is not against data centers as a rule and the state remains "pro-business." She nevertheless said she wants her future constituents to be able to decide for themselves whether data centers are built in their communities.

"It is not that I hate data centers. I hate the way they are taking advantage of Texas, and that stops when I'm governor," said Hinojosa, adding she wants Texans to "have a seat at the table to decide if and how these data centers come into their communities."

Hinojosa is among a crop of Democrats that pulled off stunning upsets in the midterm elections this week that saw the party win majorities in the Senate, the House of Representatives and turn Texas blue for the first time in a generation.

Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican who was not on the ballot in 2026, called the results a "Watergate-level repudiation."

In addition to taking a stand against the administration of President Donald Trump, voters across the country also took a stand against data centers.

Roughly 40 cities and towns across the nation weighed measures to restrict data center development. At least 33 voted in favor of reining in the industry, supporting moratoriums, new regulations and outright bans, according to Data Centers on the Ballot, a website tracking the legislation. Only one town in North Dakota voted against restrictions.

Exit polls from NBC News found that for 56% of voters, AI and data centers were a "crucial or major factor" in their vote for Congress. And about 76% of voters said they would oppose the construction of new data centers in their communities.

Notable races, including for the race for Texas governor, showed many candidates who were tough on data centers won, while notable data center supporters failed. 

The trend backs what polling has indicated for the last year: Data centers have become a political liability capable of impacting elections and bridging deep political divides.