Considering The Unthinkable

People do not like data centers, especially AI data centers pic.twitter.com/abg4JBpHQM

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) August 18, 2026

No shit, Sherlock.

Shawn Nanny, a Republican county commissioner in West Texas, said data centers and power line plans are the “straws that broke the camel’s back” when it comes to Abbott and other Texas GOP leaders.

Some longtime conservatives are now considering the unthinkable — voting in November for a Democrat to be Texas’ next governor. And Abbott’s August directive to pause Texas data center grid approvals hasn’t convinced all of them to vote for him.

“They understand the repercussions of that, but you know what I’m hearing is, ‘Yeah, we’ll have a Democrat in there and grit our teeth and bear it, but hopefully we’ll come out of it the following election,’” said Nanny, who lives in Tom Green County. “They’re so upset; they just want [Abbott] out.”

The Lege took away local authority over data centers. The Lege is controlled by the GOP.

Numerous conservative voters in sparsely populated areas said in interviews they feel like Abbott and state Republican lawmakers from larger cities have been over eager to support business and infrastructure build-outs that threaten their way of life.

And activists across the political spectrum bemoan state lawmakers’ actions to strip counties and municipalities of authority — so much so that in most unincorporated areas, Texas counties can only regulate data centers’ drainage plans, floodway construction, septic tanks and driveway permits.

Abbott’s opponent has noticed:

Greg Abbott signed HB 2712, giving hyperscale data centers a 20-year tax break to strain our power grid.

That’s from a fundraising email I received from Gina Hinojosa, who is just one point behind Abbott as he tries for a fourth term. No wonder Greg has asked for a temporary pause on data centers. You know, until after the election, maybe. You’d have to know Texas politics to appreciate this, but even the Texas Commissioner of Agriculture (yes, an elected office) is publicly warning Abbott to step away from AI. The last firebrand C of A Texas had was Jim Hightower, and that was about 35 years ago. The current incumbent is as good old boy as they come, but he understands how the rural folks feel.

Abbott is in the shit, and he may not swim out.