Mike Bourcier and his wife Jenifer hold signs Oct. 12 in Mason, Mich.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — After a campaign season filled with outrage against artificial intelligence data centers, the midterm elections ushered in a wave of Democrats pledging to clamp down on the energy-hungry behemoths.

A tougher regulatory environment for AI giants and data center developers is expected to follow, even if President Donald Trump — perhaps the industry’s biggest champion — stalls any federal crackdown.

Data center regulation itself was not on most midterm ballots, and it wasn’t among the top issues for most voters. But hard-line stances against the server warehouses were woven into the platforms of many candidates, including the Democrats who upended longtime Republican control of the governorships in Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Nevada and Iowa, many of which are data center hot spots.

Skepticism of data centers, and their impact on electricity prices, often blended with the fight for affordability — a key campaign talking point for Democrats.

In Texas, Clayton Tucker, the first Democrat elected state agriculture commissioner since 1986, said his pledge to fight data center development was critical to his victory. Everywhere he went, he said, ranchers worried that data centers posed an existential threat to their dwindling water supplies.

According to data from AdImpact, campaigns large and small spent more than $380 million on television ads mentioning data centers. Democrats outspent Republicans on the topic by a more than 3-to-1 ratio.

Sweeping wins by Democrats could have far-reaching implications for data centers. Besides taking control of Congress, Democrats flipped at least five governors’ offices and took full control of state governments in six more states: Arizona, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Michigan.

Data Center Watch, a project of AI security consultancy 10a Labs, said it tracked winning candidates for Congress and governorships and found the vast majority had expressed support for stronger regulation or even a moratorium.

Among governors, 32 of the 34 victorious candidates in races where AP called a winner support stronger regulation or restrictions. Twelve of the 34 support bans or moratoriums, it said.