A review by Data Center Knowledge found that at least 18 current officeholders lost elections between August 2025 and August 2026 after taking actions related to a data center project or being linked to political disputes surrounding its development. The findings were based on an analysis of election results, government records, campaign materials, and local news reports.
However, the evidence in these cases is not uniformly strong. Certain losers credited their defeats to votes from data centers. For some, contenders brought up data centers as a significant point of interest in their campaigns alongside electricity costs, taxes, land utilization, or local governance.
Data Center Knowledge tallied an incumbent only if they were an officeholder who lost in an election where a recorded vote, approval, incentive, zoning measure, or public support was associated with a data center initiative or policy dispute. The review doesn’t consider timing as the sole evidence that the issue influenced the outcome.
Related:Land Banking Explained – An Innovative Approach to Data Center Expansion. The tally encompasses a single official, Bridget McCandless from Missouri, who aimed for the mayor’s position during her tenure as an incumbent council member. It is a record of reported losses, rather than a gauge of how frequently data center involvement leads to incumbents losing.
The officials typically have been hesitant to publicly link their losses to data centers. Their adversaries have been much more willing to establish the link. Utah.
Utah showcased the most evident instances.
