NewsNation plans data-driven coverage of 2026 midterm elections

NewsNation announced plans to present special live coverage of the 2026 midterm elections Nov. 3, featuring real-time election results, race projections and analysis from Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ). The five-hour special, “Decision Desk 2026: Election Night in America,” will air from 7 p.m. to midnight ET.

Chris Cuomo, Elizabeth Vargas, Leland Vittert, Katie Pavlich and Chris Stirewalt will co-anchor the broadcast, which will focus on key congressional races and shifts in the balance of power in Congress.

NewsNation renewed its exclusive partnership with DDHQ to provide independent race call data. The organizations previously collaborated during the 2024 presidential election, when NewsNation was the first network to project Donald Trump as the winner.

The network’s election night coverage will feature live reporting from the “DDHQ Data Center,” an election analysis operation at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. DDHQ data scientist Scott Tranter and a team of analysts will monitor incoming results and evaluate race projections throughout the evening.

Live segments from the data center will provide viewers with a behind-the-scenes look at how analysts process election returns and determine race outcomes. NewsNation will also use its Big Board at the network’s New York studio, where Connell McShane and Stirewalt will examine key races and developments.

Election day programming will begin at 6 a.m. ET with a special edition of “Morning in America,” anchored by Markie Martin in Chicago and Blake Burman in Washington. Marni Hughes and Keleigh Beeson will host six hours of “NewsNation Live,” followed by McShane from 3-6 p.m. ET and a special edition of “The Hill with Blake Burman” from 6-7 p.m.

NewsNation correspondents will report from key states, including Texas, Maine, Ohio, California, Alaska, Kansas, Iowa and Michigan. The network will also provide reporting from the White House, candidate headquarters and a ballot processing center, where senior national correspondent Brian Entin will examine ballot counting procedures.

Coverage will continue overnight Nov. 4, with Nichole Berlie and Jesse Weber anchoring from New York from midnight to 3 a.m. ET. Anna Kooiman and Hena Doba will continue the broadcast from Chicago from 3-6 a.m.

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The network also scheduled additional election programming ahead of Nov. 3. Beginning Oct. 26, “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” was set to feature a series titled “Road to the Midterms,” with Entin examining issues affecting competitive Senate races in Texas, Iowa, Maine, Ohio and Michigan.

On Nov. 1, NewsNation will air a two-hour edition of “The Hill Sunday with Chris Stirewalt” from 10 a.m. to noon ET, followed by a one-hour election preview at 7 p.m. hosted by 2WAY’s Mark Halperin, Larry O’Connor and Kevin Walling.

NewsNationNow.com and the NewsNation mobile app will provide live election results powered by DDHQ, including updates on the balance of power in Congress. The network will also offer a live election blog and a livestream of its television broadcast.

NewsNation’s sister publication, The Hill, will present a separate livestream, “The Hill: Decision Desk ’26 Election Night in America,” from 7 p.m. to midnight ET. The program will be available on The Hill’s FAST channel, YouTube channel and website, with NewsNation Washington correspondent Cory Smith and The Hill political correspondent Drew Petrimoulx serving as co-anchors.