Governors divide over AI kill switches and data-center growth across party lines ahead of 39 races

The kill switch under discussion in California and New York would disable advanced AI systems in an out-of-control event, according to Business Insider's survey of every governor's public position ^[3]. A company that trains or hosts advanced models in either state needs to know which of its systems a switch like that could reach if the idea became statute. The survey does not describe draft language in either state, or a federal standard that would pre-empt one.

The calendar matters as much as any single governor's view. The survey counts 17 governors up for reelection ^[2] across 39 races on November 3 ^[1]. In the other 22, about 56 percent of the total, the governor whose AI record an operator has studied is not on the ballot ^[1][2].

A skeptic would say that governors' remarks are not law, and much of the record bears that out. Kay Ivey of Alabama created a generative AI task force in 2024 ^[11]. Katie Hobbs's administration set up Arizona's first AI steering committee in 2025 and launched an AI government tool in 2026 ^[9]. Sarah Huckabee Sanders launched an Arkansas working group in 2024 whose report found AI could help the state's Medicaid and SNAP programs ^[14]. Ivey's own framing was cautious. "GenAI represents a monumental step forward in the potential for our state government to serve the public," she said in a 2024 statement. "However, its capabilities must first be studied carefully to ensure it is implemented in the most responsible and efficient manner possible." ^[12]

The record already holds one binding act, though. In 2025 Ivey banned the Chinese-affiliated platforms DeepSeek and Manus from all state-owned devices and networks ^[13]. The ban covers only the state's own equipment, and it came the year after her task force was created ^[11][13].

Governors courting capacity are also making cost claims that operators will want to check. Mike Dunleavy of Alaska said in late 2025 that a 1-gigawatt campus in his state could save operators up to $150 million a year in cooling compared with a warmer state ^[16]. On his figure, that is as much as $150,000 per megawatt annually ^[3].

For an operator, the trade-off is between states that court capacity and states that are weighing controls, and party does not sort them. In my view the rules a data-center operator works under after November will be set state by state, because governors in both parties have so far taken varied approaches ^[7]. Sanders gave the growth case in one line, writing that "Arkansas can't afford to be left behind" ^[15]. A siting decision this quarter is made under today's governors. In 22 states and territories, the rules that follow will come from a different one ^[1].