Election 2024: Downballet Races for IT Pros to Watch
What Can Computing Win or Lose at the Ballot Box?
Today, across the United States, people are not only casting their vote for Harris or Trump. A wide array of Congressional, state, and local elections, as well as ballot initiatives are on the ballot. Voters' decisions could determine whether their city invests in newer network infrastructure, whether the country supports rural broadband, whether the school district gets funding for technology upgrades, whether the state welcomes the next AI chip foundry, and whether the FCC, FTC, and SEC have authority to regulate tech industries. What races matter to IT and network managers? Here's a small handful of races we're watching.
2024 Downballot Races To Watch for IT Pros
These tight contests could make waves for IT professionals in the future.
UNITED STATES CONGRESS
Location | District | Candidate 1 | % | Candidate 2 | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
California | House District 16 | Sam Liccardo [D] | % 0.0 | Evan Low [D] | % 0.0 |
Iowa | House District 1 | Christina Bohannan [D] | % 0.0 | Mariannette Miller-Meeks [R]* | % 0.0 |
Virginia | House District 7 | Eugene Vindman [D] | % 0.0 | Derrick Anderson | % 0.0 |
Virginia | House District 10 | Suhas Subaranyam [D] | % 0.0 | Mike Clancy [R] | % 0.0 |
New York | House District 22 | John Mannion [D] | % 0.0 | Brandon Williams [R]* | % 0.0 |
Ohio | Senate | Sherrod Brown [D]* | % 0.0 | Bernie Moreno [R] | % 0.0 |
CA-16: Silicon Valley special election between two Democrats, Sam Liccardo and Evan Low. Governor Gavin Newsom endorsed Low. Tech industry support is mixed, but crypto investors favor Liccardo.
IA-01: Iowa is the hot new spot for AI data centers, appealing because of its open land, water, and potential for green energy, particularly wind. Incumbent Miller-Meeks is a member of the House Committee for Energy and Commerce, with a record for pushing harder to develop energy resources more quickly, including solar and wind farms in Iowa.
NY-22: This district serves central New York, the future location of Micron's $100 billion chip plant, which both candidates have been involved in already -- Williams as US representative and Mannion as state senator. The winner will have a front-row seat to the program's success or failure. Both support the development, as well as investment in nuclear power, which might be essential to powering that kind of facility.
VA-7: Abigail Anne Spanberger, a leading advocate for rural broadband access, is vacating her seat. Who will take up her mantle in central Virginia? Eugene Vindman, who also supports AI regulation, is the likelier candidate to do so.
VA-10: As a Virginia state senator representing "Data Center Alley" in Loudoun County, Suhas Subaranyam has led efforts to regulate data center development. Would he bring that same attitude to the U.S. House? A follow-up question is who will replace Subaranyam as state senator?
Ohio: Incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown is a supporter of the CHIPS Act and was one of the co-writers of the Building Chips in America Act.
MAYOR OF SAN FRANCISCO:
London Breed [D]* | % 0 |
Daniel Lurie [D] | % 0 |
Ahsha Safai [D] | % 0 |
Mark Farrell [D] | % 0 |
Aaron Peskin | % 0 |
Big money from Big Tech has flooded into this hotly contested race, which will help set priorities for a city that houses many IT professionals and IT companies. Lurie and Breed lead the fundraising.
BALLOT MEASURES
Location | Description | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|---|
Maine | Question 2: proposes issuing $25 million in bonds to fund research for IT industries. | % 0.0 | % 0.0 |
Florida | Miami-Dade County: proposes to take actions to expand free public Wi-Fi access countywide | % 0.0 | % 0.0 |
Arkansas | Issue 1: proposal concerning lottery funds could help create more skilled tech workers | % 0.0 | % 0.0 |
* indicates an incumbent
Broadband on the Ballot
