Data center opponents were among the biggest winners of the Democratic wave in the US midterm elections, according to a Reuters analysis, in a text republished by the Lufkin Daily News, pointing to a shifting public mood on artificial intelligence and a possible slowdown of the boom that has sustained US economic growth and stock markets.

In Texas and Georgia, Democrats who campaigned in part on a moratorium on data center development won offices the party had not held for decades. Data center stocks fell as the Democratic sweep became apparent: Core Scientific dropped 11.6% and Iren 12.5%, with declines also at Applied Digital, Hut 8, Cipher Digital, GE Vernova, Constellation Energy and Vistra. For Aidan Yao, a senior investment strategist at the Amundi Investment Institute, the election worked more as a referendum on artificial intelligence than on Trump. Even Republicans turned against data centers, which opponents say drive up utility bills, pollute the night sky with lights and do not create enough jobs or taxes to justify state incentives.