CNN announces election night coverage plans for 2026 midterms

CNN will begin its 2026 midterm election night coverage at 4 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, with Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper leading the network’s coverage from Washington, D.C.

The network’s “Election Night in America” programming will feature correspondents reporting from battleground states, political analysts examining congressional and gubernatorial races and expanded digital tools for tracking results.

John King will return to CNN’s Magic Wall to analyze election returns as votes are counted, while Dana Bash will focus on Senate races and Kaitlan Collins will report on reaction from Donald Trump and his administration.

Erin Burnett will anchor from Texas, where she will lead a panel examining one of the election’s closely watched Senate contests.

Other members of the election night team include Boris Sanchez, who will cover gubernatorial races, and David Chalian, who will analyze voter polling and battleground states alongside Kasie Hunt.

Pamela Brown will examine voter turnout, Laura Coates will provide legal analysis and Tom Foreman will handle fact-checking. Political commentators David Axelrod, Scott Jennings and Van Jones will offer perspectives on the results.

At 2 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, John Berman and Kate Bolduan will take over live coverage from New York, New York. Harry Enten will analyze election data, with Mark Preston contributing political analysis.

CNN’s election day programming will begin at midnight Eastern on Nov. 3, 2026, with Elex Michaelson anchoring from the West Coast.

Erica Hill will take over at 3 a.m. Eastern, followed by Audie Cornish at 5 a.m. Eastern. Berman, Bolduan and Sara Sidner will anchor beginning at 7 a.m. Eastern.

Cooper will lead coverage at 10 a.m. Eastern, followed by Wolf Blitzer and Burnett at noon. Cornish will join them for analysis, with Jeff Zeleny, Lulu Garcia-Navarro and Jonah Goldberg reporting from Austin, Texas.

Throughout the day, Phil Mattingly and Berman will use the Magic Wall to examine election data. Katelyn Polantz and Omar Jimenez will provide updates from CNN’s Voting Desk, while Gabe Cohen will cover election integrity issues.

CNN also plans to deploy reporters across the country, including Victor Blackwell and Ryan Young in Georgia, Lauren Fox in Ohio, Danny Freeman in Pennsylvania, Dianne Gallagher in North Carolina and  Sidner, Sunlen Serfaty and Brian Todd in Michigan.

Other assignments include Kyung Lah in Alaska, Jason Carroll and Arlette Saenz in Maine, Jessica Dean in Virginia, Randi Kaye in Florida and Brianna Keilar and Ed Lavandera in Texas.

Michaelson will report from California, while Kylie Atwood will cover Kansas and Annie Grayer will report from Louisiana. Kristen Holmes, Alayna Treene and Julia Benbrook will cover developments at the White House.

The network is also introducing CNN Sightline, a digital election analysis tool designed to help audiences interpret results in closely contested Senate and gubernatorial races.

Drawing on data from CNN’s Decision Desk, Sightline will evaluate five indicators to provide real-time assessments of which candidates are leading and how races are changing as ballots are counted.

The tool will be available through CNN’s website and mobile app and incorporated into the network’s television coverage.

CNN is also expanding its interactive Magic Wall, allowing users to explore election results by state, congressional district and county. The digital version will include voter polling data, ballot measures and additional down-ballot races.

App users will be able to receive notifications about selected races, while subscribers will have access to historical election data dating to 2016.

CNN’s digital coverage will include a vertical video livestream, live reporting and election analysis. Subscribers to CNN’s All Access service will be able to stream the network’s election coverage and access additional programming.

At 7 p.m. ET, Berman and Enten will host a special edition of “CNN Office Hours,” featuring live audience questions and election analysis. Alyssa Farah Griffin will join the program as a guest commentator.

The special will stream through CNN’s digital platforms, YouTube and TikTok, with additional interactive features available to subscribers.

CNN International will carry the network’s election coverage beginning at midnight Eastern on Nov. 3, 2026.

CNN en Español will provide separate Spanish-language coverage through its “Voto Latino” special, airing from 7 p.m. to midnight Eastern.

Juan Carlos López and Gabi Frías will anchor from Atlanta, Georgia, with reporting from correspondents in Washington, Miami, Los Angeles, Austin, Atlanta and Mexico City.

The Spanish-language coverage will air on CNN en Español and the CNN Noticias free ad-supported streaming television channel.