Small towns across the country are tying their economic futures to Silicon Valley's massive investments in data centers. If these projects stalled, residents of small towns would face property tax hikes to pay for infrastructure that was built to serve facilities that no longer need it.
AI-aligned super PACs spending in the 2026 midterms might shape the future of AI regulation. The piece focuses on New York Assemblymember Alex Bores, who became a target of the industry-backed group Leading the Future after announcing a bid for Congress. Elections have become a new front in the AI policy debate.
This story explores the widening gap between Republicans in state Legislatures and in Washington on AI and data center regulation. State-level Republicans told me there is growing skepticism about how close President Trump has become to Silicon Valley, translating into a greater push to regulate and even impose a moratorium on new data centers.
For this story, I talked to Democratic lawmakers who have publicly denounced Trump's immigration enforcement while holding personal investments in Palantir, a prominent contractor for ICE. Some of them traded millions in Palantir stock throughout last year. Some of them argued their holdings don't present any conflict with their position. Others, like Rep. Cleo Fields, told me: "I wish I could get my money back."