Democrats Take Congress Despite Musk's $446 Million; NBC Exit Poll Finds 76% Oppose a New Data Center Nearby

Since Democrats won the House and Senate on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the argument has moved from who won to what the win does to the AI build-out and the billionaires who bet on the other side.

The money did not carry the day. Elon Musk gave between roughly $446 million and $474 million to Republican efforts, depending on the tally. CNBC's analysis of campaign finance records puts it at $474 million. OpenSecrets calls it the largest individual contribution in a federal cycle since 2010.

More than $200 million of it went to support Ken Paxton in Texas; CNBC puts Musk's Texas giving at $224 million. Republicans lost both the Senate and governor races there. Democrat James Talarico beat Paxton, a close Trump ally, the first Democratic statewide win in Texas since 1994, per Breitbart.

Musk shrugged it off on X: "Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time."

Big spenders, same result

Musk was not alone.

• Georgia: Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms beat billionaire health care executive Rick Jackson, who put more than $200 million of his own fortune into the governor's race, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• Ohio: Democrat Amy Acton beat Vivek Ramaswamy, who spent an estimated $36 million of his own money. Democrat Sherrod Brown unseated Sen. Jon Husted in a race that drew more than $500 million.
• South Carolina: American Mission, the Republican arm of the Leading the Future network backed by OpenAI president Greg Brockman and venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, put about $2.7 million behind Sen. Graham. Democrat Annie Andrews won in a state Trump carried by 18 points.

Democrats had deep pockets too. Michael Bloomberg spent $80 million on House, Senate and governor races, then added $36 million in the final days, Politico reported. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who put $11.5 million into the super PAC backing Talarico, wrote on X late Tuesday that "we should get money out of politics" while defending his own contributions. The Soros family gave roughly $103 million to Democratic efforts, and Alex Soros wrote Wednesday on X that "the world changed yesterday."

Republican donors had their own explanation for the spending. Writing in Fox News, Arthur Herman argued that Musk understands keeping a Republican majority is crucial to "America's secure and prosperous future." Herman also noted that critics say Musk is motivated by fear of investigations from a Democratic Congress.

What voters said about data centers

The AI industry's problem is not only that its donors lost. NBC's Election Day exit poll found 76% of voters would oppose building a new data center in their community. Fifty-six percent said AI and data centers were a crucial or major factor in their vote for Congress. Voters also faced more than 50 local ballot measures on the subject, and early results showed more than 30 measures restricting data centers passing.

Texas shows where this goes. Democratic governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, who defeated three-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, has called for a pause on new data center projects until the state adopts tougher rules on construction and operation. Texas is a major destination for the buildings.

Billionaire investors saw the risk before polls closed. Bill Ackman said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" that slowing AI development could jeopardize America's technological edge: "Practically speaking, we can't slow down." On the "All-In" election-night livestream, Chamath Palihapitiya said: "The only way to sink the AI trade is to sink the data centers."

Why Republicans say they lost

The data center backlash is one explanation. It is not the one the Republican leadership is giving.

Vice President JD Vance pointed to the Iran war. "If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so," he said. "But everyone knows why we lost."

He said many 2024 Trump voters switched to Democrats this year. He listed the war in Iran, cost of living, not putting America first and the U.S. relationship with Israel as the top reasons voters gave.

Trump told reporters Vance's position was "largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit, short-term." He added that he would start the war again, because he did not want Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the result the "political equivalent of a meteor strike." He said voters were rejecting Republicans in Washington rather than embracing Democratic policies, and he faulted the GOP for not capitalizing on kitchen-table issues.

The demographic shifts were large. According to Pew Research Center, 9% of Black voters and 34% of Hispanic voters backed Republicans this year, down from 15% and 48% for Trump in 2024. Republicans lost a net 6 points among all men.

How markets and tech stocks reacted

Wall Street rallied Wednesday, Nov. 4. The Dow rose 1,569 points, or 3%, the S&P 500 gained 1.6% and the Nasdaq rose 1.4%, as investors welcomed gridlock and Trump's willingness to accept the results, per CNBC.

The gains were uneven. Nvidia and TSMC slipped, CoreWeave fell 9% and Nebius dropped more than 6%, according to Business Insider. The same report put SpaceX down 5% and Tesla down 2%.

Not every tech priority lost. California's billionaire wealth tax appears likely to fail, per Business Insider, and voters may pass Gov. Gavin Newsom's competing measure banning future wealth taxes.

The first test of whether the backlash becomes policy is Texas, where Hinojosa's proposed pause on new projects awaits her taking office and any move by the legislature.