How a Blue Wave midterm might reshape the AI industry

TechCrunch's Equity podcast used its latest episode, published November 6, 2026, to examine how Democrats' sweeping wins in this week's U.S. midterm elections could affect the tech and AI industries. Hosts Kirsten Korosec, Sean O'Kane and Anthony Ha focused on data centers, which TechCrunch says were a prominent issue in the campaign.

According to the publisher, voters decided 41 ballot measures related to data centers on Tuesday, and in every case but one, a majority backed tighter limits on development. TechCrunch adds that the topic also came up frequently in races where it was not directly on the ballot, and that newly elected Democratic governors and members of Congress are likely to favor more regulation. The hosts also consider the prospect of greater government scrutiny of Big Tech, and TechCrunch notes that OpenAI is already working to rebrand data centers.

The episode covers several other stories as well. These include whether Google's first satellite data center points toward a future of orbital computing, and whether AI can be blamed for major layoffs at Canva and Squarespace. The hosts also discuss Marvell's $115 billion purchase of Lumentum, which TechCrunch describes as one of the largest deals in history, CrowdStrike's acquisition of two AI security startups, and NBCUniversal's investment in Elo Elo, an Indian microdrama startup.

The ballot results matter because they suggest local resistance to the infrastructure behind the AI boom, which could add political hurdles for companies racing to build more computing capacity.