WIRED's Midterms Races to Watch: Silicon Valley Money, Data Centers, and Election Deniers
As midterm elections approach in a month, WIRED examines contests impacted by funding from Silicon Valley and the rise of election denialism. In Texas' 10th district, a September survey shows Chris Gober ahead of Rourk with a 48-41 margin. Arizona's 5th district sees Trump-supported Mark Lamb in the mix. In Kansas' 1st district, Lauren Reinhold is taking on incumbent Tracey Mann. The race for Wisconsin governor has David Crowley trailing Tom Tiffany by 3 points (49-46, Marquette). In Georgia, Rick Jackson is leading Keisha Lance Bottoms 48-45 (Rasmussen). Michigan's Senate race has Abdul El-Sayed slightly ahead of Mike Rogers 48-46 (Hill/Emerson). Ohio’s gubernatorial battle features Ramaswamy versus Acton at 48-45 (YouGov), while Jim Marchant faces Cisco Aguilar for Nevada's secretary of state. In Ohio's Senate race, Sherrod Brown leads Jon Husted 48-45 (Bowling Green).
Key facts
- Midterm elections are one month away, with races shaped by Silicon Valley funding, data centers, AI regulation, and election denialism
- Chris Gober, former America PAC lawyer, leads Rourk 48-41 in Texas' 10th district, per a September poll
- Mark Lamb, former Pinal County sheriff, is likely to become Congress' first constitutional sheriff in Arizona's 5th district
- Lauren Reinhold, a former Social Security Administration HR administrator fired in 2025, runs in Kansas' 1st district against Tracey Mann
- David Crowley leads Tom Tiffany 49-46 in Wisconsin's governor race, per a Marquette Law School poll
- Rick Jackson leads Keisha Lance Bottoms 48-45 in Georgia's governor race, per Rasmussen Reports
- Abdul El-Sayed leads Mike Rogers 48-46 in Michigan's Senate race, per Hill/Emerson College Polling
- Fairshake plans to spend at least $30 million against Sherrod Brown in Ohio's Senate race
Entities
Artists
- Chris Gober
- Mark Lamb
- Lauren Reinhold
- Tracey Mann
- David Crowley
- Tom Tiffany
- Keisha Lance Bottoms
- Rick Jackson
- Brad Raffensperger
- Abdul El-Sayed
- Mike Rogers
- Barack Obama
- Vivek Ramaswamy
- Amy Acton
- Elon Musk
- Jeff Yass
- Bill Ackman
- Jim Marchant
- Cisco Aguilar
- Sherrod Brown
- Jon Husted
- James Talarico
- Ken Paxton
- Riley Owen
- Ben McAdams
- Burgess Owens
- Donald Trump
- Joe Biden
- Greg Brockman
- Joe Lonsdale
- Viktor Orban
Institutions
- WIRED
- America PAC
- Lex Politica
- Elevate New Mexico
- Danube Institute USA
- Department of Government Efficiency
- SpaceXAI
- Tesla
- Maven Advocacy Partners
- Department of War
- Project Maven
- Palantir
- Anduril
- Maven Defense Solutions
- American Mission PAC
- Leading the Future
- OpenAI
- Andreessen Horowitz
- True the Vote
- Social Security Administration
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Wisconsin Elections Commission
- Marquette Law School
- Rasmussen Reports
- Hill/Emerson College Polling
- YouGov
- Fairshake
- Bowling Green University
- Silver Bulletin
- Think Big
- The New York Times
- Getty Images
- AP
- Reuters
- Shutterstock
Locations
- Texas
- Arizona
- Kansas
- Wisconsin
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Ohio
- Nevada
- Utah
- United States
- Silicon Valley
- Grimes County
- Pinal County
- Box Elder County
- Vandalia
- New Mexico
- Hungary
- Pennsylvania
- Israel
- Gaza