Updated November 5, 2026, 11:15 p.m. ET
Texas is done with data centers unless the companies supporting them prove they will benefit Texans, the Lone Star state’s newly elected Democratic governor said Thursday (Nov. 5).
“What’s happened is the data centers have been moved to primarily rural communities, and there are no rules or laws to protect Texans and Texans are being exploited,” Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa told CNN. “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.”
His comments follow the stunning results of the midterm elections, in which Americans across the country voted overwhelmingly against construction of the sites. Leaders in many communities have lobbied against these centers, describing them as nuisances that drain local water resources while driving up electricity costs.
The victories for Hinojosa and his fellow Democrats meant overcoming the millions of dollars that billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk poured into Texas Republicans’ 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 can’t just be about crushing the population of Texas. And that’s what changes now that I’m governor.”
A day earlier, after Hinjojosa’s election victory, Musk posted on X that “data centers in space look pretty attractive right now.” Musk has already floated the idea of putting data centers in orbit.
More than 80 data centers operate in the state, the second-largest in the nation, according to data center tracking group Cleanview. Another 50 are under construction and more than 120 are planned.
Musk, who moved to Texas in 2020 after celebrating the state’s laissez-faire approach to regulation, is not behind all of the state’s data centers. But the CEO of xAI is a staunch defender of these sites and his support for these sites was linked to the enormous sums he spent trying to ensure that Republicans remained in power.
Hinojosa in particular has made his opposition to data centers central to his campaign, lambasting outgoing Gov. Greg Abbott on the campaign trail for his previous comments that the state would become “the epicenter of AI development.”
Abbott later walked back his comments and issued a statewide moratorium on data center construction. But he failed to win over enough voters to prevent Hinojosa from becoming the state’s first Democratic governor this century.
Hinojosa added that she is not against data centers in general and that the state remains “pro-business.” Still, she said she wants her future constituents to be able to decide for themselves whether data centers are built in their communities.
“It’s not that I hate data centers. I hate the way they’re taking advantage of Texas, and that stops when I’m governor,” Hinojosa said, adding that she wants Texans to “have a seat at the table to decide if and how these data centers fit into their communities.”
Hinojosa is part of a generation of Democrats who pulled off stunning upsets in this week’s midterm elections, which 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 President Donald Trump’s administration, voters across the country have also taken a stand against data centers.
About 40 cities and towns across the country have considered measures to restrict data center development. At least 33 people voted in favor of controls on the industry, in favor of moratoriums, new regulations and outright bans, according to Data Centers on the Ballot, a website that tracks the legislation. Only one city in North Dakota voted against the restrictions.
NBC News exit polls 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 community.
Notable races, including the one for governor of Texas, showed that many candidates who were tough on data centers won, while notable data center supporters failed.
This trend confirms what polls indicated last year: data centers have become a political liability capable of impacting elections and bridging deep political divides.
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