This briefing reflects reporting and polling available as of October 22, 2026. Candidates, endorsements and polling can change before Election Day on November 3, 2026. Why This Race Matters Republican Gov. Kay Ivey is term-limited, so Alabama is choosing a governor in an open race. The matchup is a rematch of the 2020 U.S. Senate … Read more
Four more midterm debates were held on the night of Oct. 7: the governor’s races in Pennsylvania and Oregon, Iowa’s Senate race and Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. Data centers came up in three of them, and the Trump administration’s tariffs, the Iran war and federal health care changes ran through most. This Debate Dispatch summarizes … Read more
Candidates in four midterm races debated on the night of Oct. 6: Susan Collins and Troy Jackson in Maine’s Senate race, and the governor’s candidates in Michigan, Georgia and Iowa. Three subjects recurred: candidates’ ties to President Trump, data centers, and who is to blame for high prices. This first Debate Dispatches summarizes the main … Read more
The EPA has proposed eliminating a longstanding federal requirement that states notify the public and take comments before issuing air pollution permits for data centers and other industrial facilities. States could still choose to offer public comment on their own, but the agency would no longer require it as a condition of an approved state … Read more
Republican officials in several states are reversing long-held support for data center construction as the political backlash intensifies heading into the midterms. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott paused approval of new data center connections to the state power grid this month, pending an audit of tax breaks, ownership and water use. Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers, … Read more
