On Saturday, 7 November 2026, the Democratic Party achieved a landslide victory in the United States midterm election, taking control of both chambers of Congress. Analysts estimate that Democratic control could slow the pace of artificial intelligence (AI) technology development in the United States.
They assess that Democratic dominance in Congress will create new constraints on computing capacity, especially because the party favors stricter oversight of data centers. Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank economist Gary Ng Cheuk-yan said the slowdown of AI in the United States “could be a victory for China” and added that data center construction will not stop entirely but its pace will certainly decelerate.
Ng added that Democratic control could keep “U.S. AI tokens high, giving China the opportunity to export cost‑effective inference services, supported by abundant electricity supply.” He believes that tighter regulations could reduce the speed of cutting‑edge AI research and development.
A national exit poll survey by NBC News showed that 56 percent of voters considered AI and data centers a very important or primary factor in determining their choice, with about 64 percent of that group supporting the Democrats. A Reuters/Ipsos poll before the election also identified restrictions on AI data‑center construction as a very important issue for respondents.
Observers anticipate that a Democrat‑dominated Congress will pursue regulations that could slow AI research, while U.S. cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services and Google may build data centers abroad. Michael Strobaek of Swiss bank Lombard Odier said self‑regulated industry oversight is the most likely path, while former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein emphasized that President Donald Trump still holds significant executive power in the AI race against China.
Source: cnnindonesia.com
