Democrats Are Coming for AI Data Centers and Bitcoin Miners Could Pay Dearly

A Party-Wide Push

Data centers were on the ballot this week, and the winners are now talking about limits. Sen. Bernie Sanders, citing local referendums where voters approved data center restrictions, called for a “National data center moratorium now,” CNBC reported yesterday.

In the House, Rep. Yassamin Ansari said pausing AI development should be a Day 1 priority for the new Democratic majority while Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, replied “Yes!” as well.

The message carried into the Senate race too, and Sherrod Brown won back a seat in Ohio, saying “I do not work for data centers.” At the same time, Annie Andrews flipped a South Carolina seat after making data centers a campaign theme.

Voters appear to agree, as in a CNBC Voter Poll, 56% of voters said AI and data centers were a crucial or major factor in their vote, and 65% of those voters backed a Democratic congressional candidate.

Some states had already started acting, with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signing an executive order in August to slow data center development.

Texas Is the Front Line

The sharpest threat comes from the state that matters most. Texas holds 27% of planned U.S. data center capacity, and it just elected Gina Hinojosa, the first Democrat to win the governor’s race in 36 years. She did not mince her words:

I will issue a moratorium, a ban, on all data center approvals until the legislature passes protections. We need to stop what we are doing with data centers until we have those protections.

She also aimed at the state’s best-known tech resident. “We can have a strong working relationship with Elon Musk and his companies, but it has to be on our terms,” she said of Musk.

Texans were already receptive to these thoughts, as a June Texas Politics Project poll found 56% opposed data center construction in their own community.

Bitcoin Miners Are Exposed

Many of the companies building AI capacity started as bitcoin miners. Their power contracts, grid connections, and land have become their most valuable assets, and many are converting them to AI hosting as mining margins shrink.

Riot Platforms, for instance, signed a 15-year, 910-megawatt lease at its Corsicana, Texas site worth about $28 billion. Furthermore, it sold $750 million in BTC over a single quarter, continuing its pivot.

Other entities have left mining entirely, with Keel Infrastructure dumping its treasury for $192 million earlier this week.

As expected, investors reacted quickly, with the Democratic sweep stoking fears of an AI crackdown. Data center stocks were hit the hardest as IREN fell 16%, Nebius 15.1% and Cipher Mining 14.6%. Bitcoin’s price fell about 6% during the same selloff stretch.

The Finer Print

Tech investor Gavin Baker said Hinojosa has stated that all currently permitted Texas data centers will be allowed to finish construction, which he says covers the pipeline through 2027 and likely into 2028.

Federal action faces a wall too, given that President Donald Trump keeps his veto for two more years, so a national moratorium is far more likely to stay a slogan than become law. The real pressure will come from states, permits and hearings.

That is still a problem for miners as their pitch to investors relies on cheap power, fast hookups and room to expand. Bitcoin.com News recently reported mining revenue hit an 11-month high even as hashprice slumped, which leaves little margin for new delays. Hinojosa takes office in January, and the first draft of her promised “protections” will show how much of the AI pivot survives in Texas.

Former bitcoin mining company Keel Infrastructure sold its entire BTC treasury during the third quarter, generating $192 million in proceeds…