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Building the Future is an offshoot of the pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future, arguably the leading super PAC promoting industry interests in the midterm elections.

Data centers have become a major issue in the Nov. 3 midterm elections in the US. While federal regulation on limiting new build is a longshot due to President Donald Trump’s opposition, states may still use their control over power markets and permitting rules to respond to popular backlash. BNEF's Lead US Policy Analyst, Derrick Flakoll joins to discuss. (Source: Bloomberg)

New moratoriums and restrictions would threaten the sector that is powering the AI boom.

In today's Front Page: A freethinker's guide to the midterms. Can AI already hack your bank account? Jed Rubenfeld on Stop the Steal, Alaska edition. Is this disease too rare for American medicine to treat? And much more. Due to a technical glitch, The Front Page is arriving in your inbox a little later than usual this morning. We apologize for the delay! Now, on to the news. It’s Monday, October 26. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Jed Rubenfeld on Trump’s legal foray into the Alaska Senate race. Tyler Cowen on the AI-enabled hacks that could spell financial disaster. A young woman’s maddening quest through the American healthcare system to find treatment for her mom’s rare disease. And much more. But first: Party loyalty, at what price? We’re eight days away from the midterms and American voters are, once again, being told that the stakes could not be higher. “This is the most important midterm in the history of our country,” President Donald Trump said at a rally in Kentucky earlier this month. Senator Bernie Sanders declared the vote “the most important midterms in modern history.” Every cycle, the rhetoric, it seems, gets more intense; the supposed stakes, more existential. On both sides of the aisle, politicians and their media allies present politics as a fight to the death between good and evil. And they argue that anything other than full-fledged support for your camp risks defeat. Given that The Free Press was founded to combat groupthink, it’s no surprise that we’re not exactly fans of this mindset—or the bad behavior, cowardice, and double standards it encourages. So today, we offer some counterprogramming to the team-sports hot takes that prevail elsewhere, with two columns making the case for refusing to comply with the instructions of the political elite. Up first, Erick Erickson, the conservative radio host and—usually—a reliably Republican voter. He explains why he will not be voting for Mike Collins, the GOP’s Senate candidate in his home state of Georgia. And—using some justifiably colorful language—he makes a broader point about partisanship, the rotten quality of candidates for office, and how to do something about both. Read Erick on why you should “refuse to eat the shit sandwich.” Next, Peter Savodnik tackles the Democrats who have fallen in line and endorsed Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed—including Barack Obama, who rallied for El-Sayed in Michigan over the weekend. El-Sayed has a long track record of comments and views that once would have been viewed as disqualifying, but that hasn’t stopped his party from backing him. The Democratic establishment is putting party over country, Peter argues. Will the voters? —Oliver Wiseman Tune In for LIVE Midterms coverage with The Free Press and 2WAY! The Free Press and 2WAY are teaming up for a real-time interactive election night special. You can tune in right here. Will Rahn will co-host with Mark Halperin and the 2WAY team, joined throughout by Free Press writers, editors, and contributors, including Douglas Murray, Mene Ukueberuwa, Audrey Fahlberg, and Suzy Weiss. Watch the election night special live from 8 p.m. to midnight ET on Tuesday, November 3, right here. Viewers can also visit this page to join the conversation and participate through 2WAY’s interactive community. MORE FROM THE FREE PRESS THE NEWS Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has returned to Venezuela after nearly a year in exile, according to a spokesperson. Machado left her home country to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025, and had been unable to return since the Trump administration backed Delcy Rodríguez, an ally of the country’s former dictatorial ruler Nicolás Maduro, as interim president. Elon Musk admitted on Saturday that SpaceX slowed down internet service for Ukraine via its satellite network Starlink, with Musk claiming he did so because the service was used to launch fa…

Ahead of the US midterm elections on Nov. 3, national polls show that most Americans are deeply dissatisfied with the direction of the country.

Some of the world's leading financiers are sounding increasingly alarmed about an AI bubble.

A new CNBC survey finds broad voter opposition to nearby AI data centers, creating a political challenge for Trump and Republicans ahead of the midterm election.

With the U.S. midterm elections looming, Americans are nearly as gloomy about the economy as they were when the nation was emerging from the pandemic.

Nadia Lovell, UBS Global Wealth Management’s head of global equity strategy, said markets may remain volatile over the coming weeks amid earnings, next week’s Federal Reserve meeting, midterm-election uncertainty and the Middle East conflict’s impact on energy and oil prices. Despite risks around financing the AI buildout, she said economic growth and demand remain strong, with much of the investment led by high-quality hyperscalers. Lovell said investors should not abandon the AI trade, but should become more selective. (Source: Bloomberg)

Dan Ives, partner and senior managing director at Yorkville Ives & Co., discusses his outlook for AI legislation after the US midterm election. He speaks on “Bloomberg Surveillance.” (Source: Bloomberg)

Plus, the Friday news quiz.

Fox News Media is launching a live blog, interactive map, and AI chatbot to deliver real-time 2026 midterm election results and race updates.

Fox News will give viewers a way to ask questions about races and candidates—and the fight to control Congress—during the network's Election Night coverage.

The midterms are the first elections in which artificial intelligence is integrated into every major social media platform. Efforts to blunt its harms are uneven.

Datacenters, AI and distaste for the billionaires developing it has soured Americans on big tech How will Trump’s mass deportation agenda shape the US midterm elections? Our reporters answer your questions The campaign ad begins with a clear, idyllic stream that suddenly turns sludge-brown as two concrete datacenters slam onto its banks. Another facility thuds down on a peaceful suburban park, and two more crush-green pastures as an ominous soundtrack to a disaster movie blares overtop. “They’re coming for our rivers. Our neighborhoods. Our farmland,” a deep-voiced narrator says. “Because Brent Taylor wrote the law allowing datacenters to take over Tennessee.” Continue reading...

Chatbots are adding a new layer of chaos ahead of the midterms.

Data: Harvard Youth Poll, Fall 2026; Chart: Emily Peck/Axios Nearly two in three U.S. adults younger than 30 who plan to vote in next month's congressional midterm elections say their main motivation is to oppose President Trump and his policies, according to a newly released Harvard Youth Poll . The big picture: Seventy-seven percent of respondents disapprove of the president's handling of the economy, including about half of young Republicans. And just 9% say the U.S. is headed in the right direction — the lowest in the survey's history. Why it matters: Economic populism is driving emotions, along with concerns about war, AI, billionaires, deportation tactics, social policies and corruption. Majorities of respondents support Medicare for All, a wealth tax and bans on congressional stock trading. What we're watching: Just one in three Americans ages 18-29 say they'll definitely vote — a substantial drop from 40% who said so in 2022. Notably, most of that drop is driven by Republicans. Only 34% of Republican respondents said they'll definitely vote, down from 46%; 50% of young Democrats say they'll definitely vote, essentially unchanged. Just 22% of independents they'll definitely vote, down from 26%. Data: Harvard Youth Poll; Chart: Emily Peck/Axios Zoom in: Topping the list of what young people consider serious threats to their long-term financial security: rising prices and the cost of living (79%), followed by the power of large corporations (68%) and trade wars (68%). Nearly half said their household is struggling to make ends meet or getting by with limited financial security. By the numbers: 63% say their votes for U.S. House or Senate will be cast in opposition to Trump, while 14% say they're motivated by support of the president and 17% say he's not a factor. Two-thirds disapprove of the job Democrats are doing in Congress; 74% disapprove of congressional Republicans' performance. Stunning stats: For the first time in the poll's history, the share of young adults who said they expect to be worse off than their parents (27%) slightly exceeded the share who said they expect to be better off (25%). The difference was within the poll's margin of error, but the longer-term trend is striking. In fall 2021, 39% expected to be better off than their parents, while just 17% expected to be worse off. When Harvard first asked the question, only to college students, in 2003, 74% believed they'd be better off than their parents. In this recent poll only 28% believed it. When asked if they're more hopeful or fearful about America's future, fear (69%) outweighs hope (26%) by more than two to one. What they're saying: "At the beginning of adulthood, younger people should be able to see a path from hard work to a secure life, and the big question is whether that promise still holds," John Della Volpe, director of polling at Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics, said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday. Methodology: The Harvard Youth Poll was conducted Sept. 30-Oct. 7, 2026, by the Harvard Public Opinion Project (HPOP) with Ipsos' KnowledgePanel®. It is based on a probability-based sample of 2,024 18-to-29-year-olds. The margin of sampling error is +/-2.61% for results based on the entire sample of adults; +/- 3.19% for the sample of registered voters; and +/-4.30% for the sample of those who plan to "definitely" or are likely to vote.

The move is the president’s latest attempt to address widespread opposition to the AI boom ahead of the midterm elections.

Voters across the country in this year’s midterm elections will decide on ballot initiatives to slow down development or issue guardrails for data centers, which have seen sharply increasing public backlash. President Donald Trump has pushed for data center development, arguing they are necessary in order to win the artificial intelligence race against China. However, […]

Most American voters "don't trust the leaders of AI companies to make decisions in society's best interests," writes Will Johnson.