Biz leaders react as a 'blunami' sweeps America on Election Night

• Democrats have won full control of Congress.
• Business and tech leaders are sizing up the outcomes.
• California’s ballot measure targeting billionaires is in the spotlight.

Democrats will take control of both chambers of Congress after flipping key Senate seats, including James Talarico’s win in Texas and Sherrod Brown’s win in Ohio. Talarico became the first Democrat elected to the US Senate in Texas in decades, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk spent over $150 million supporting the race’s Republican candidate, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Business leaders, tech executives, and investors are now assessing what the new political landscape could mean for their industries.

In California, the results of the nation’s first-ever ballot measure to impose a one-time 5% wealth tax on residents with net worth exceeding $1 billion could have major implications for the state’s elite. Results of that vote were not yet in as of 11:30 p.m. ET.

Here’s how powerbrokers in business and tech reacted to the early midterms results in the aftermath of the polls closing across the country:

Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn cofounder

“Voters made clear they demand a different kind of country. Americans want an economy that can compete globally and deliver for them at home. And they made clear that they want leaders they can trust to fight for their constituents,” he wrote.

“This night blew the doors off our expectations. From Texas to Ohio, Kentucky to Iowa, and South Carolina to Indiana, voters rejected the status quo. Tonight’s lesson: Never discount any voter in any place,” he continued.

Hoffman has been active in politics and vocal about his support for Democrats, spending tens of millions this election cycle. He also spent millions to support Kamala Harris’s campaign in 2024.

Hoffman has previously said the Democratic Party had alienated Silicon Valley and was partly to blame for its shift to the right.

Elon Musk

“Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now,” Musk said, referencing concerns that Democratic wins could mean more scrutiny on data center development.

“Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time,” he joked in a quick follow-up post.

Musk, the world’s richest person, spent more money than any other individual in the midterms, donating a whopping $446 million, mostly in Texas, the state he calls home along with his companies Tesla and SpaceX.

In addition to Talarico’s Senate seat, the Texas governorship was also won by a Democrat, Gina Hinojosa. It was the first time in decades a Democrat won a statewide race in the Lone Star state.

Brad Gerstner, Altimeter Capital CEO

In a guest appearance on the All-In podcast livestream Tuesday evening, Gerstner said fears that a “blue tsunami” could make it difficult to build new data centers are “overblown.”

But he said that election results could slow down the development of the centers, and candidates like Gina Hinojosa, the Democrat who won the Texas gubernatorial race Tuesday, could “issue a moratorium on new data centers.” He said this could be “really challenging for the AI infratrade.”

Gerstner also said that Republicans and the AI community have “struggled with the messaging” over AI as the affordability crisis has weighed on Americans’ minds.

The investor is the architect of “Trump Accounts,” the investment vehicle for children in the country that launched in July.

Dylan Patel, SemiAnalysis CEO

Dylan Patel, CEO of SemiAnalysis, hinted at what he believes a blue wave could mean for the AI buildout.

“I am now bullish space datacenters,” Patel said in a post on X alongside a screenshot of results out of Texas that showed Hinojosa with an early lead over incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

Ahead of the midterms, some in tech expressed concern that Democratic wins would mean additional scrutiny on data centers, which have faced fierce opposition in communities across the US.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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