Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa pledged during her successful gubernatorial election campaign to impose an “immediate moratorium on data centers” until “real protections” for Texans are put in place by the Texas Legislature. Texas has more operational data centers than any other state bar Virginia, according to a Pew Research Center study published in April, and according to CNN, a quarter of America’s “planned AI infrastructure buildout” is due to take place in the state. Earlier this year, The Information reported that SpaceXAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, was exploring projects in Texas including building new data centers and converting existing warehouses into data centers. Hinojosa campaigned heavily on data center construction for the 2026 midterm elections against incumbent Governor Greg Abbott, calling in July for a ban on new data center approvals until new laws “puts Texans first.” She said new legislation would require data companies to “hire skilled, licensed, union labor,” not use non-disclosure agreements and “prove households won’t pay more for electricity or water, including the hidden costs,” and that all subsidies to data center companies would be scrapped. Speaking to KTAB News before the election, Hinojosa said her “moratorium” would apply to “any new permits” for data centers until new laws have been passed. In September, Governor Abbott instructed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to stop issuing new data center permits while it compiled additional information from data center companies.