The Datacenter Backlash Goes Bipartisan: Next Week's Midterms and the 2028 Buildout

SemiAnalysis argues that roughly three-quarters of the 33.8 GW due across its top 20 states in 2027 is already under construction, so next week's midterms mainly affect the 2028 pipeline, where 62.2 GW of US net additions are modeled and most has not started building. It tracks 13 states with the largest 2028 additions (43.5 GW, 70% of the national total), 10 of which elect a governor, and flags a prolonged permitting freeze at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as the biggest risk, since Texas alone adds close to 30% of US GW in 2028. Nine of 20 nominees want a pause on new construction and 11 want conditions, with candidates favoring conditions in Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Iowa and Georgia a toss-up.