Voters delivered a landslide victory that looks set to redraw the American political map. Elon Musk’s record-breaking spending spree — including roughly $224 million poured into Texas alone — failed to prevent Democrats from clinching big wins across the state. The upset threatens the state’s artificial intelligence buildout. Facing a potential moratorium on terrestrial projects, Musk wrote on social media that “data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now.”
Elsewhere, markets are rallying on the prospect of a divided government. While Musk’s spending fell short in Texas, some deep-pocketed donors did well in California: The early tally shows the state’s billionaire tax ballot measure facing potential defeat after opponents spent lavishly on the hotly contested effort. Finally, here’s a name to watch for in 2028 given the rejection of the Trump administration: Ron DeSantis.
Democrats have seized control of Congress and turned statehouses and governors’ mansions blue. With so many voters voicing their frustration with the cost of living, could Fed policymakers consider that as they debate interest-rate policy? Trump has never been so politically hemmed in; he will face a House and a Senate controlled by Democrats. The Times’s latest tally has Democrats taking 54 seats in the Senate and 228 in the House so far.
“The vote shows that the political pendulum is swinging against Trump policies,” Holger Schmieding, an economist at Berenberg, wrote to investors. “That can impact business decisions in sectors seen as favored by Trump such as fossil fuels and artificial intelligence.” Shares in renewable energy companies, including Vestas and Orsted, rallied on Wednesday. Companies with significant military contracts, including Lockheed Martin and Palantir, fell in premarket trading. Shares in Core Weave and Nebius, so-called neoclouds that rent out computing power to A.I. players, fell in premarket trading as questions loomed about what the election results will mean for the A.I. trade.
Source: New York Times Business · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing