The Business Fallout From a Blue Wave

ImageAndrew here.Big money lost last night.

Most notably, Elon Musk’s record-breaking spending spree — including roughly $224 million poured into Texas alone — failed to prevent Democrats from clinching big wins across the state.The upset threatens the state’s artificial intelligence buildout.

Facing a potential moratorium on terrestrial projects, Musk wrote on social media this morning that “data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now.”Elsewhere, markets are rallying on the prospect of a divided government.And while Musk’s spending fell short in Texas, some deep-pocketed donors did well in California: The early tally shows the state’s billionaire tax ballot measure facing potential defeat after opponents spent lavishly on the hotly contested effort.Finally, here’s a name to watch for in 2028 given the rejection of the Trump administration: Ron DeSantis.

We’ve got a lot more below.Now what? American voters have delivered a decisive blow to President Trump and his MAGA policies.Votes are still being counted, but Democrats have seized control of Congress and turned statehouses and governors’ mansions blue.Democrats’ strong showings, especially in reliably red Kansas, South Carolina and Texas, have forced investors and party bosses to come to terms with the political and economic reality of a newly constrained lame-duck president and a fed up populace.With so many voters voicing their frustration with the cost of living, could Fed policymakers consider that as they debate interest-rate policy?Trump has never been so politically hemmed in; he will face a House and a Senate controlled by Democrats.

The Times’s latest tally has Democrats taking 54 seats in the Senate and 228 in the House so far, an outcome that largely affirms the most bullish pollsters’ calls, as well as wagers on prediction markets (more on that below).“The vote shows that the political pendulum is swinging against Trump policies,” Holger Schmieding, an e...