NewsNation To Present Special Election Coverage on November 3
Network Again Partners with Decision Desk HQ for Independent Race Call Data
New Data-Driven Format Puts Real-Time Results and Race Projections at the Center of the Broadcast
CHICAGO, IL – NewsNation today announced that it will present special live coverage of the 2026 Midterm Elections on Tuesday, November 3,, from 7 p.m. to midnight ET. “Decision Desk 2026: Election Night in America,” will be co-anchored by Chris Cuomo, Elizabeth Vargas, Leland Vittert, Katie Pavlich, and Chris Stirewalt.
The network will once again partner exclusively with election data provider Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) for independent race call information on election night. Working with DDHQ in 2024, NewsNation was the first network to call Donald Trump the winner of the Presidential election. As always, NewsNation will take a data-driven approach, focusing on the most consequential races across the country and the biggest developments as they unfold in real time.
NewsNation’s election coverage this year will place special emphasis on DDHQ’s data scientist Scott Tranter and a team of data analysts stationed in an election war room dubbed the “DDHQ Data Center.” Located at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, the team at the data center will monitor results in real time. Offering live look-ins throughout the evening, NewsNation viewers will get a behind-the-scenes look at how Mr. Tranter and his team analyze incoming data and make race calls. The network will track shifts in the balance of power in Congress as results come in.
NewsNation’s election coverage will begin at 6 a.m. ET, with a special edition of Morning in America, anchored by Markie Martin in Chicago and The Hill’s Blake Burman in Washington, D.C. Six consecutive hours of NewsNation Live will follow, hosted by Marni Hughes and Keleigh Beeson from Chicago. Anchor Connell McShane will helm another three-hour block of NewsNation Live from 3-6 p.m. ET, followed by a special edition of The Hill with Blake Burman from 6-7 p.m. ET.
Throughout election night, Mr. McShane will break down key race calls and developments on the Big Board at the network’s New York studio, alongside political editor Mr. Stirewalt.
On election day, NewsNation correspondents will be dispatched in key states across the country. National correspondent Xavier Walton and White House correspondent Libbey Dean will report from Texas; senior national correspondent Laura Ingle and investigative correspondent Rich McHugh from Maine; national correspondents Jessica Kartalija and Bennett Haeberle from Ohio; national correspondents Marcus Espinoza and Courtney Friel from California; national correspondent Nancy Loo from Alaska; national correspondent Mills Hayes from Kansas; national correspondent Brooke Shafer from Iowa; and national correspondent Hannah Brandt and senior congressional correspondent Joe Khalil from Michigan. White House correspondent Kellie Meyer will provide live reaction from the White House.
Additionally, senior national correspondent Brian Entin will report from a ballot processing center examining how ballots are processed and counted. NewsNation will also draw on its nationwide network of affiliated stations to provide reporting from key candidate headquarters.
Following the network’s election night special, anchors Nichole Berlie and Jesse Weber will co-host live coverage from New York on Wednesday, November 4 from 12-3 a.m. ET. Anchors Anna Kooiman and Hena Doba will continue live coverage from Chicago from 3-6 a.m. ET.
Beginning October 26, Elizabeth Vargas Reports will feature a series of special segments titled, “Road to the Midterms,” with Mr. Entin reporting on key issues shaping highly contested Senate races, including those in Texas, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, and Michigan. The segments will explore topics important to voters such as the construction of data centers, affordability, and the Democratic Socialist Movement.
On Sunday, November 1, NewsNation will offer a two-hour special edition of The Hill Sunday with Chris Stirewalt from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET, preempting an encore presentation of Batya! That evening, NewsNation will carry a special one-hour midterm election preview at 7 p.m. ET, hosted and produced by 2WAY’s Mark Halperin, Larry O’Connor, and Kevin Walling. The program will preempt NewsNation Live with Keleigh Beeson.
On election day, NewsNationNow.com and the NewsNation mobile app will offer live, up-to-the-second race results powered by DDHQ, in addition to real-time updates on the balance of power in Congress. Throughout the evening, NewsNation will also present a live blog sharing the latest election updates and analysis, as well as a livestream of the network’s on-air broadcast.
NewsNation’s sister publication, The Hill, will present a livestream of its election coverage entitled, “The Hill: Decision Desk ’26 Election Night in America.” The livestream will be available on The Hill’s FAST channel, YouTube cannel and The Hill.com from 7 p.m. to midnight ET, co-anchored by NewsNation Washington correspondent Cory Smith and The Hill political correspondent Drew Petrimoulx.
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About NewsNation
NewsNation, a Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST) property, is the country’s source for “News for All Americans.” Validated by independent watchdog groups, the network delivers engaging and unbiased news, reflecting the full range of perspectives across the country. In addition to its dedicated national staff of reporters, producers, and photographers, NewsNation draws on the local expertise of Nexstar’s 5,500 journalists in 110 newsrooms across the country. NewsNation is fully distributed on every pay television platform in the United States, online at www.newsnationnow.com, and on the NewsNationNow mobile app, available on Android and iOS.
NewsNation Media Contact:
Carly Shanahan/cashanahan@newsnationnow.com
872-242-9616