There is now much experimental evidence for a significant change in the electronic structure of cuprate superconductors near a hole doping p=p_c optimal for superconductivity. Only for p > p_c do the electronic properties agree with the predictions of band theory. We argue that the data supports the existence of a quantum critical point (QCP) at p=p_c, and for p < p_c we have a novel state characterized by emergent gauge fields, possibly co-existing with conventional symmetry breaking orders. We present evidence that such a QCP is present in the Hubbard model with random, and all-to-all, hopping and exchange. We also discuss a SU(2) gauge theory for the QCP in model of fluctuating spin density waves in the absence of disorder.