Climate and data centers on midterm ballots as Americans vote with gas at record high

Energy prices and AI data centers capture voter attention as a sideline to the major focus over control of Congress

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The Buc-ee’s in Sevierville, Tenn. spans 74,000 square feet, has 120 gas pumps, a 250-foot car wash and pull-through RV spaces. The average cost of a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. is currently about $4.17, AAA says. Photo: Buc-ee’s.

In Colorado they’re voting on the right to buy fossil fuels. In California they’re voting to tax AI billionaires. In Oklahoma they’re voting to throw out a small-town mayor who supports a $1 billion data center along Route 66.

Tomorrow’s U.S. midterm elections are all about which party controls Congress, but the subplot of this election is all about energy. Specifically, high gas prices, high electricity prices, and the threat of new AI data centers to electric grids and the environment.

Climate is on the ballot across the country as gasoline prices remain at record levels and El Nino begins to rear its ugly head in the form of intense rainstorms, high tides and flooding. Different states and counties are responding in different ways, but all are concerned about data centers and about the rising profile of the energy industry in their business.