NewsNation pairs Decision Desk HQ data with dynamic graphics for midterm election night

NewsNation has built its midterm election night graphics system to deliver vote data down to the county level in every state and to mirror that data across television and digital platforms simultaneously.

The network’s five-hour special, “Decision Desk 2026: Election Night in America,” airs Nov. 3 from 7 p.m. to midnight ET, using data from its exclusive partner Decision Desk HQ.

“In our new election set, NewsNation will have dynamic motion graphics which take viewers in-depth into the latest vote totals and projections,” said Jonathan Killian, senior vice president of creative marketing and brand standards at NewsNation and The Hill.

The same data on every screen

The graphics system is designed so that data displayed on the television broadcast also appears on The Hill Insider and NewsNationNow.com. Killian described the result as a single interactive display that works across television, tablets, desktops and phones.

“In partnership with Decision Desk HQ, we can take viewers in to the most up-to-the-minute granular vote breakdowns and live data with immersive graphics, down to individual counties across every state in the country,” said Killian.

“Whether viewers are participating in our live coverage via the television, their tablet, desktop or phone, it is a cohesive interactive display with the most accurate and real-time election data anywhere.”

The cross-platform approach means a viewer following a county-level breakdown on the broadcast can pull up the same data on a second screen. NewsNationNow.com and the NewsNation mobile app will carry live results powered by DDHQ, along with a live election blog and a livestream of the television broadcast.

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A data center and a Big Board

The broadcast will draw on two reporting positions for data analysis. At Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, DDHQ data scientist Scott Tranter and a team of analysts will staff the “DDHQ Data Center,” monitoring incoming results and evaluating race projections. Live segments from the data center will show how analysts process returns and determine race outcomes.

In NewsNation’s New York studio, Connell McShane and Chris Stirewalt will use the network’s Big Board to break down key races.

The two organizations previously worked together during the 2024 presidential election, when NewsNation was the first network to project Donald Trump as the winner.

Coverage lineup

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

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

Correspondents will report from Texas, Maine, Ohio, California, Alaska, Kansas, Iowa and Michigan, as well as the White House, candidate headquarters and a ballot processing center where senior national correspondent Brian Entin will examine ballot counting procedures.

Overnight coverage continues Nov. 4, with Nichole Berlie and Jesse Weber anchoring from New York from midnight to 3 a.m. ET and Anna Kooiman and Hena Doba from Chicago from 3-6 a.m.

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 on The Hill’s FAST channel, YouTube channel and website, co-anchored by Cory Smith and Drew Petrimoulx.