AI / Data Centers
Greg Abbott (R)
On AI, Abbott signed HB 149, the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (TRAIGA), on June 22, 2025, making Texas the third state with a comprehensive AI law; it bans behavioral-manipulation systems, social scoring, and unlawful deepfakes, creates a 36-month AI regulatory sandbox, and vests enforcement exclusively in the AG, with the law taking effect January 1, 2026. On data centers, Abbott has been notably hands-off as ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas warned lawmakers that incoming load could reach 410,000 MW — roughly seven times the new demand ERCOT accommodated in 2024 — and as Hill County in May 2026 became the first Texas county to impose a one-year construction pause; Hood County rejected a similar pause, and Abbott did not publicly intervene when Sen. Paul Bettencourt asked AG Paxton to declare county moratoriums illegal. On chips, Abbott announced Samsung's $17 billion Taylor fab in 2021 (since expanded toward $40 billion with CHIPS Act funds) and signed the Texas CHIPS Act creating the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund in 2023.
Gina Hinojosa (D)
Hinojosa has made the cost-shifting of data-center power consumption onto residential ratepayers a centerpiece of her affordability pitch, telling voters that 'all of our electric bills will go up about $600 a year because of the cost for these data centers to operate' and adding that 'these data centers are owned by some of the richest men in the world. When I'm governor, they will pay for themselves.' She has paired the electricity argument with a water argument, saying the state should guarantee residents 'enough drinking water and water to live on in their homes' before industrial data-center water draws are approved. In January 2026 she hosted then-ERCOT interim CEO Brad Jones for a League of Women Voters listening tour focused on grid reliability and load growth. She has not yet released a detailed plan to regulate AI itself, algorithmic accountability, or model-training data; her published platform addresses data centers only as a grid and affordability issue.
Sources
- Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor, official campaign priorities page, accessed May 2026. (full list)
- Latham & Watkins, 'Texas signs Responsible AI Governance Act into law,' analysis of HB 149 signed June 22, 2025. (full list)
- Texas Tribune, 'Hill County approves Texas's first data center construction pause,' May 12, 2026. (full list)
- KUT, 'Texas data centers and the grid: ERCOT, legislature, load growth,' April 13, 2026. (full list)
- Office of the Governor, 'Governor Abbott announces Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund grant to Samsung Austin Semiconductor.' (full list)
- KFOX, 'Gina Hinojosa launches campaign for Texas governor, targets water access and schools,' 2025. (full list)
- E&E News, 'Spiraling energy costs may tighten Texas governor's race,' 2026. (full list)
- Austin Chronicle, 'ERCOT listening tour offers more explanations than plans,' Feb. 4, 2022. (full list)