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[Corroborated]

# Governors who back pauses now oversee 41% of planned US data center capacity

Cleanview counts 158.6 gigawatts in nine states. The pledges are pauses, not bans.

Leaked on 06 November 2026

![Server racks inside a data center (illustrative)](https://leakly.com/assets/images/governors-pause-pledges-41-percent-data-centers-hero.jpg)

Server racks inside a data center (illustrative). [Photo: Carl Lender from Sunrise, USA / Wikimedia Commons, cropped](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Datacenter_Server_Racks_(22370909788).jpg) ([CC BY 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/))

Nine states now have a governor or governor-elect who has promised or already imposed a pause on new data centers, and those states hold 158.6 GW of planned capacity, or 41% of the US pipeline, market intelligence firm [Cleanview](https://newsletter.cleanview.co/p/newly-elected-governors-could-pause) reported after the midterms. unusual\_whales (@unusual\_whales) shared the figure on X.

> **unusual\_whales** @unusual\_whales
>
> BREAKING: 41% of pending data center capacity in the US is planned to be built in states where newly elected governors have promised to stop or pause such construction, per Cleanview
>
> 5,270 likes · 389 reposts · counts as of 09 Nov 2026, 12:49 UTC
>
> — unusual\_whales (@unusual\_whales) [November 6, 2026](https://twitter.com/unusual_whales/status/2118780314445373842)

[Leakly track record](https://leakly.com/leakers/unusual_whales/)

Cleanview says another 69.2 GW, or 18%, is in states where the winner wants to change tax breaks or other rules. [DatacenterDynamics](https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/more-than-half-of-us-hyperscale-data-center-projects-face-regulatory-friction-after-2026-midterm-elections-report/) relayed the analysis and noted Cleanview's view that the results do not signal the end of the data center boom.

Most pauses would last until new rules are written, Cleanview says.

## What we know

* 158.6 GW, or 41% of planned US capacity, sits in nine pause-backing states.
* Another 69.2 GW faces rule changes.

## What we don't know

* How many projects will actually be delayed.

## What would confirm it

State executive orders or legislation in 2027.

## Sources

* [Original X post by @unusual\_whales](https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/2118780314445373842)
* [Newly Elected Governors Could Pause 41% of America’s Planned Data Centers](https://newsletter.cleanview.co/p/newly-elected-governors-could-pause)
* [More than half of US hyperscale data center projects face 'regulatory friction' after 2026 midterm elections - report - DCD](https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/more-than-half-of-us-hyperscale-data-center-projects-face-regulatory-friction-after-2026-midterm-elections-report/)

[Corroborated]

## What happened later

Most pauses would last until new rules are written, Cleanview says.

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