On a Tuesday in early November, Americans will decide who holds the reins of Congress, filling all 435 House seats, 35 Senate contests, and governorships in 36 states. It is the kind of civic ritual that asks a nation, once again, to measure its present mood against its hopes for the years ahead. CBS News has prepared its broadcast, streams, and local stations to carry the count through a long evening, though the full picture may take days to emerge, as it sometimes does when the votes are close and the counting is careful.
How to Watch 2026 Midterm Election Results Live on CBS News
Some contests may not be settled on election night.
Mark
Why does a viewing guide count as news? It's mostly a schedule.
Mimi
Because it shows how the night will unfold. Polls close in waves from 7 p.m. ET until 1 a.m. ET, so the picture builds slowly rather than arriving all at once.
Mark
What's actually on the ballot?
Mimi
All 435 House seats, 35 Senate races, governors in 36 states and three territories, plus measures like California's proposed billionaire tax.
Luke
Worth noting the framing that this decides the future of Trump's agenda is CBS's characterization. The guide doesn't say what outcomes would do to it.
Mark
Fair. What about the Alaska piece?
Mimi
Alaska closes last, at 1 a.m. ET, and has a closely watched Senate race. If no one gets over 50% on first choices, ranked-choice rounds kick in, and the state says full results come 15 days later, Nov. 18.
Luke
Which means we don't know yet whether that race will even need those rounds. That's conditional.
Mark
And other states?
Mimi
Speed depends on margin and mail-ballot rules. Close races take longer.
Luke
The guide doesn't say which races or states are expected to be slow, so I'd not assume any particular call times.
Mark
So the takeaway for a viewer?
Mimi
Expect an evening of partial information, and possibly no answer in some contests by morning.
Il Polso
- Control of Congress and the direction of a president's agenda hang on a single night of ballots.
- Polls begin closing at 7 p.m. ET, and results will arrive in waves that could unsettle expectations state by state.
- Broadcasters, streams, and local stations are mobilizing dozens of reporters and analysts to make sense of the flood of returns.
- Alaska's ranked-choice count will not be final until Nov. 18, so some outcomes may remain unsettled well after election night.
On a Tuesday in early November, Americans will decide who holds the reins of Congress, filling all 435 House seats, 35 Senate contests, and governorships in 36 states. It is the kind of civic ritual that asks a nation, once again, to measure its present mood against its hopes for the years ahead. CBS News has prepared its broadcast, streams, and local stations to carry the count through a long evening, though the full picture may take days to emerge, as it sometimes does when the votes are close and the counting is careful.
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, voters will choose all 435 members of the House, 35 Senate seats, and governors in 36 states, with control of Congress and the fate of President Trump's agenda on the line. Some high-profile measures, including California's proposed billionaire tax, will also be decided.
CBS News will carry the night across several platforms. Its "America Decides: Election 2026" broadcast begins on TV and cable at 7 p.m. ET, anchored by Tony Dokoupil and Norah O'Donnell and joined by Gayle King, Margaret Brennan, and a team of political reporters. Elections director Anthony Salvanto will deliver updates throughout the evening. For viewers without cable, CBS News 24/7 streams all day on the CBS News app, Paramount+, CBSNews.com, and YouTube, and "Election 2026: The Nerd Show" starts at 5 p.m. ET with pollsters and data experts.
CBS's owned stations in 15 markets will mix local and network coverage on their own schedules, with some running from late afternoon into the night and others on split windows.
Results will come in waves, beginning when the first polls close at 7 p.m. ET and building through 8 and 9 p.m. Western states follow at 11 p.m., with Alaska closing last at 1 a.m. ET. Battleground races in Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Texas will shape the early picture. Still, close margins and mail-ballot rules mean some races may not be called on election night. Alaska's ranked-choice tally, in particular, will not be final until Nov. 18.
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, voters will fill out ballots for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 Senate races. At stake is control of Congress and, with it, the future of President Trump's agenda. Governors are on the ballot in 36 states and three U.S. territories, and some high-profile measures are up for a vote too, including California's proposed billionaire tax.
CBS News has laid out how it will cover the night. Its "America Decides: Election 2026" broadcast on TV and cable starts at 7 p.m. ET. Tony Dokoupil and Norah O'Donnell anchor, joined on set by "CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King, "Face the Nation" moderator and chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan, and a team of political reporters that includes Robert Costa, Major Garrett, Nancy Cordes and Ed O'Keefe.
Anthony Salvanto, the network's executive director of elections and surveys, will give updates through the evening. Correspondents will report from Washington and around the country: Weijia Jiang at the White House, along with Nikole Killion, Adriana Diaz, Matt Gutman, Skyler Henry, Lana Zak, Kris Van Cleave, Taurean Small, Jan Crawford and Nicole Sganga. Political analysts from both parties and experts in election law and security will also contribute.
Viewers without cable can follow along on CBS News 24/7, which streams throughout Tuesday and all evening. It is available on the free CBS News app on connected TVs and smartphones, on Paramount+, and on CBSNews.com and YouTube. At 5 p.m. ET, "Election 2026: The Nerd Show" starts, hosted by Salvanto and congressional correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns, with Democratic and Republican pollsters and other data experts. The Dokoupil and O'Donnell prime-time coverage streams live on all platforms at 7 p.m. ET.
CBS Stations will also cover the election across 15 owned markets, mixing local and network coverage. Schedules vary. CBS News Bay Area, Los Angeles and Sacramento run from 4 p.m. to 11:35 p.m. PT, and Chicago and Colorado begin at 4 p.m. and run to 10:35 p.m. local time. Miami goes live from 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. ET, and Texas from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. CT. Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh use split windows, and Minnesota runs 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. CT. Atlanta has no stream, but local viewers can watch on WUPA Channel 69.
Results will arrive in waves. The first states close their polls at 7 p.m. ET, more at 7:30, and large numbers at 8 and 9 p.m. California and several other Western states close at 11 p.m. ET, Hawaii an hour later, and Alaska, home to a closely watched Senate race, at 1 a.m. ET.
Among battlegrounds, Georgia and South Carolina close at 7 p.m. ET; North Carolina and Ohio at 7:30; Florida, Maine, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania at 8; and Iowa, Kansas, Michigan and Texas at 9. Polling places in Texas's Central time zone close an hour earlier, and most of Alaska closes an hour earlier than the 1 a.m. ET mark.
Not every race will be called quickly. Timing depends on how close the margin is and on each state's rules for counting mail-in ballots. Alaska uses ranked choice voting, so if no candidate tops 50% of first-choice votes, extra rounds of counting follow. The state says full ranked-choice results won't be available until 15 days after the election, on Nov. 18, once all eligible ballots are reviewed and counted. Some contests, in other words, may not be settled on election night.
Citazioni salienti
Alaska says full results of its ranked-choice ballots won't be available until 15 days after the election, on Nov. 18.— State of Alaska, as reported by CBS News
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Politics & Governance