Texas Elects a Governor Who Promised to Freeze New Data Centers, Putting a Quarter of Planned US Capacity in Question, Daily Caller Reports; Abbott Had Already Paused Approvals
Gina Hinojosa beat Greg Abbott by seven points, per a CBS projection the Caller cites. Her campaign wants a moratorium and an end to tax breaks, though the Caller's sources say the governor's powers are limited.
Texas voters chose a governor who wants to stop new data centers, and the Daily Caller News Foundation says that puts a big piece of the AI buildout in doubt.
The result. Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated three-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott by seven points, according to a CBS News projection the Caller cites. She is the first Democrat elected governor since Ann Richards in 1990, the Caller says, and takes office Jan. 19, 2027.
Her pledge. Her campaign site calls for "an immediate moratorium on data centers to last until the legislature can meet to put in place real protections," and for an end to state tax breaks for the facilities. The Caller cites Yahoo Finance as saying Texas holds more than a quarter of the data center capacity planned in the US through 2030, and Agence France-Presse as saying Bloom Energy projects Texas could account for almost 30 percent of national AI electricity demand by 2028.
Abbott's own pause. The Caller notes Abbott moved first. On Aug. 3 he told the utility commission and ERCOT to audit every data center trying to connect to the grid, with no new approvals until the audits finish. The Texas Tribune reported more than 1,800 projects were waiting, asking for over 474 gigawatts, which ERCOT said is more than five times the grid's record peak. Abbott said about 90 percent of new power requests came from data centers. Hinojosa called his step an "election year pause." Her campaign site says: "A temporary moratorium is a scam because Abbott will likely lift it on November 4th, right after the election."
The industry view. Stuart Turley, CEO of Sandstone Group, told the Caller: "If the Democrats get into power, they will shut them all down and raise energy prices, and China wins." He said that if new centers cannot connect, "the Texas low-cost power will become more like California." Energy analyst David Blackmon said a permanent ban would need the Legislature, but that Hinojosa "could wreak economic havoc via an extended series of executive actions." Elon Musk posted on X that "data centers in space" were "looking pretty appealing right now," per AFP.
The limits. The Caller says the governor has "fairly limited powers," and that ending the tax breaks takes a Legislature vote. Democrats won the Texas House, gaining at least 18 seats in unofficial returns, per The Texan, while Republicans look set to keep the state Senate.
Why it matters here. Data centers were already in the news after the election, as investors weighed what a Democratic sweep means for AI, which we covered earlier. This report shows the issue is a live one in the country's biggest energy state.
What we could not check. The Caller's predictions about prices and flight of investment are opinions from interested analysts, not results. We did not read the Tribune, Yahoo Finance, AFP or CBS reports it cites.