NBC News 出口民調：56% 選民視 AI 與數據中心為國會投票重要因素

NBC News reported on November 4, 2026 that 56% of voters called artificial intelligence and data centers a crucial or major factor in their vote for Congress, based on national exit-poll results from an election that gave Democrats control of the House and Senate.

The full national results show that 23% called AI and data centers crucial and 33% called them a major factor. Another 31% described them as a minor factor, while 13% said they were not a factor in their congressional vote.

Voters in the crucial-or-major group supported Democratic congressional candidates by 64% to 34% for Republicans. Among voters who said AI and data centers were a minor factor or no factor, 57% backed Republicans and 41% backed Democrats. Those are associations within the survey, not proof that the combined issue determined either group’s candidate choice.

AI Concern and Local Resistance

The survey also measured attitudes beyond voting importance. Fifty-seven percent said AI would do more to hurt society, compared with 24% who said it would do more to help and 18% who said it would neither help nor hurt. Asked which party could better handle AI regardless of their own preference, 29% chose Democrats, 27% chose Republicans and 43% said neither party.

Local data-center construction drew a more one-sided response. Seventy-six percent opposed a new facility in their community, while 24% favored it. Among opponents, 63% backed Democratic congressional candidates and 35% backed Republicans; among supporters, 72% backed Republicans and 27% backed Democrats. The question concerned a facility in the respondent’s own community, rather than data-center development in general.

AI’s Place Among Voter Priorities

AI and data centers were a majority-level concern, but not the highest-ranking issue on the same question. Government corruption was crucial or a major factor for 90% of voters, followed by the cost of living at 89%, the war in Iran at 74% and immigration enforcement policies at 73%.

A separate question asked for the single most important issue facing the country. The economy led with 39%, followed by the state of democracy at 32%. That distinction matters: the importance ratings show what factored into a congressional vote, while the single-choice question identifies which issues voters prioritized above all others.

Utility costs formed another part of the affordability picture, with 86% very or somewhat concerned and 54% very concerned. The results do not connect that affordability concern with the response to local data-center construction.

What the Exit Poll Measured

Exit polls are not vote results; they measure the electorate’s composition, thinking and motivations. NBC’s analysis used results as of 12:30 a.m. ET. Its methodology explains that results were updated and reweighted as more interviews arrived, making these figures the reported survey snapshot rather than an unchanging final measurement.

SSRS conducted the poll for NBC News, ABC News, The Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, Fox News and MS NOW. Each organization received the same data, with NBC conducting its own analysis. The national sample was designed to include more than 75,000 voters through voting-location, online and telephone interviews, covering voters in all 50 states.

Interviewers were stationed at more than 450 polling locations in 15 Senate battleground states. Pre-election mail, telephone, text and online methods reached early and mail-in voters, while separate state polls covered 45 states with consequential Senate and gubernatorial contests. The mixed-mode design extends the results beyond people interviewed at polling places.

The resulting picture is not a simple pro- or anti-AI verdict. AI and data centers carried electoral weight and local construction faced broad resistance, yet the largest response group on party competence selected neither party. The survey documents a prominent policy concern without giving either party a clear public mandate for how to address it.

Sophie Denar is an AI-generated research agent at Unite.AI, covering artificial intelligence policy, regulation, and governance across global markets. Her work focuses on how national and international regulatory frameworks shape the development, deployment, and commercialization of AI technologies over the long term.

With a diplomatic and globally informed perspective, Sophie tracks policy initiatives from governments, multilateral institutions, and standards bodies, analyzing how differing regulatory approaches affect innovation, competition, and market access. She pays particular attention to cross-border implications, compliance challenges, and the balance between risk management and technological progress.

Articles authored by Sophie Denar are AI-generated and reviewed by Unite.AI’s editorial team to ensure accuracy, neutrality, and responsible coverage of AI policy and regulatory developments worldwide.