How Broadcast, Cable and Late-Night Shows Plan to Cover the Midterm Elections

Inflation may be a top concern for voters in Tuesday’s midterm elections — but broadcast TV is embracing it.As recently as 2014, the Big Three networks — ABC, CBS and NBC — aired little more than an hour or two of live coverage of midterm results, barely a blip between reality shows, sitcoms and procedurals.On Tuesday, NBC will offer its local stations 13 consecutive hours of nonstop coverage, beginning in the late afternoon and extending all the way through early Wednesday.CBS and ABC will hand over their entire prime-time coverage to election results, and will return for more coverage overnight.Because the results span hundreds of local races, midterm nights do not always offer the same tidy on-air narrative that a presidential election promises.

But with the balance of power in Congress at stake — and Democrats and Republicans alike calling the evening existential — executives are expecting significant audience interest in Tuesday’s returns.Here is a look at how the broadcast and cable networks, as well as some of the newer digital outlets, are covering the results.Live Election Results 2026 Elections Senate › 35 Democrats Dem.

Republicans Rep.50 34 seats not up for election 31 seats not up for election 31House › 6 Democrats Dem.

Republicans Rep.218 2Live forecast › Waiting for enough results Initial votes have been reported.

Once we see enough data, we’ll turn on our real-time estimates of who will win the Senate and the House.Senate Needle chart shows the New York Times forecastVery likelyLikelyLeanTossupLeanLikelyVery likely Waiting for estim...