Democrats\u2019 historic victory in this week\u2019s midterm elections could also have a dramatic effect on the tech industry.<\/p>\n
In dozens of local ballot measures, voters rejected data centers. And even when they weren\u2019t voting on the issue directly, they were electing politicians \u2014 like Texas\u2019 new governor-elect Gina Hinojosa \u2014 who campaigned on the promise of restricting data centers.<\/p>\n
On the latest episode of TechCrunch\u2019s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Sean O\u2019Kane, and I discussed what the midterms mean for the tech industry. Sean kicked it off by noting that Elon Musk \u201cseems to have basically nothing out of donating half a billion dollars\u201d to Republicans, while his companies are now headquartered \u201cin a state that has, remarkably, turned about as blue as it could possibly turn.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Kirsten said that while data centers probably weren\u2019t the main cause of the \u201cblue wave,\u201d they\u2019ve become an \u201can increasingly grassroots issue, in part because of how hyperscalers and companies have gone about\u201d getting their projects approved. And now, \u201cwe\u2019re already seeing companies like OpenAI all of a sudden go, \u2018Actually, we can change our policies.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Keep reading for a preview of our conversation, edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n