Did Data Centers Make the Difference for Democrats?

Midterm Election Results Include Democratic Gains; Data Centers Featured in Select Local Contests

Democrats secured 54 Senate seats and 259 House seats in the 2026 midterms, according to results reported as of November 6. These totals represent the party's largest congressional majorities in five decades if final counts in remaining races hold. Projections indicated that 75 percent of the U.S. population would reside in states with Democratic governors, and more than half would live in states under unified Democratic control of the governorship and legislature.

One contest that drew limited national attention was New Jersey's 2nd congressional district. The district had been held by Republican Jeff Van Drew after he switched parties in 2019. Van Drew won reelection in 2024 by 17 points in a district that supported Donald Trump by 15 points that year. Pre-election forecasts had placed Van Drew as the favorite against Democratic challenger Zack Mullock, mayor of Cape May. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the race to its target list in October and spent $1.5 million. Mullock ultimately won by three points.

The district includes Cumberland County, where a data center project has drawn local opposition. Northeast Precast and DataOne Vineland, a subsidiary of a European firm, are constructing the facility on behalf of Nebius for an end user identified as Microsoft under an agreement valued at up to $19 billion. Residents have attended planning meetings to express concerns about noise, emissions, and land use. Matt Williams of SustainSJ, a local group opposing the project, stated that voters in the county expressed a desire for change across party lines. Democrats won the sheriff's race and county commissioner seats in Cumberland County on the same ballot.

In August, Floodland News and The Guardian reported that DataOne Vineland had operated dozens of gas generators without required state permits. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued a $1.1 million fine and set a November 6 deadline for permit applications or cessation of operations. Project developers have disputed the need for permits and continued work, including installation of gas fuel cells. Residents have reported increased noise levels from the site in recent days.

Mullock criticized Van Drew's prior support for the project during the campaign. Van Drew had described the project as important to its approval, and some investors contributed to his campaign. Van Drew later stated he no longer supported the specific proposal. Mullock received his strongest margins in Cumberland County. In a post-election interview, he said the most common question from voters concerned whether he would be "a decent human being," with affordability and foreign policy also raised frequently. He attributed part of his support to broader concerns about regulation of artificial intelligence and corporate influence rather than the data center alone.

Statewide and national ballot measures addressed data centers directly. Of at least 41 local questions seeking to restrict data centers or remove tax incentives, 40 passed. In Downe Township in Cumberland County, 87 percent of voters rejected a nonbinding question on supporting data centers. More than 100 New Jersey municipalities have enacted bans or restrictions. Allianz has estimated that 47 gigawatts of planned projects could face delays under moratoria adopted by some Democratic governors.

The DCCC included data center and AI issues in advertising in roughly half of its targeted races. New Jersey's 2nd district was not among those selected for such messaging. Exit polling conducted on Election Day found that data centers and AI ranked below other issues for most voters. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said the technologies would do more to harm society than help, and 76 percent opposed construction of data centers in their own communities. Voters expressed greater trust in Democrats than Republicans on economic management, foreign policy, health care, government corruption, and transgender-related policies.

Tech industry political spending drew attention during the cycle. Elon Musk contributed nearly $500 million to Republican-aligned efforts. OpenAI president contributions to Republican committees were also reported. A post-election statement from OpenAI's chief global affairs officer referenced Franklin D. Roosevelt and called for Democratic candidates to advance policies that increase public agency over AI tools. The Chamber of Progress, funded in part by OpenAI, Amazon, and Andreessen Horowitz, argued that data centers and AI remained low-salience issues and that Democratic messaging on technology required recalibration to rebuild ties with the sector.

Mullock, who received support from the Blue Dog PAC, stated that he backs congressional subpoenas for technology executives and data center operators. He cited the absence of federal guardrails on AI development as a concern requiring legislative attention. The election outcomes occurred against a backdrop of shifting partisan associations for technology companies, with polling showing voters increasingly viewing tech executives as aligned with Republicans.

Voter priorities centered on economic conditions and government performance, according to the same exit surveys. Data center projects involve large-scale electricity demand and land acquisition, factors that have prompted local regulatory responses in multiple states. The New Jersey results reflect one instance where project-specific opposition coincided with a change in representation, while national patterns showed Democratic gains alongside continued variation in local technology policy debates.