WATCH LIVE: Election night 2026 PBS News special coverage

President Donald Trump might not be on the ballot, but this year's midterm elections will set the stage for the final years of his presidency.

PBS News' live special coverage of the 2026 midterms will begin at 6 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Watch in the player above.

Democrats have been gaining ground with voters on issues such as affordability and the Iran War as Americans weigh how Trump-led policies are affecting their daily lives. In the final PBS News/NPR/Marist poll before Election Day, Democrats hold an 8-point lead among likely voters in the fight for control of Congress.

Despite his own approval ratings at historic lows, Trump has been criss-crossing the nation from Kansas to New York to far-flung Alaska to help give a last-minute boost to his party's candidates. The president has been targeting key races in many states long considered Republican mainstays in the hopes his party can maintain its grip on both chambers of Congress.

Meanwhile, elections and state officials are bracing for possible meddling from the Trump administration as the Justice Department prepares to deploy 1,000 election monitors to all 50 states on Election Day. Trump, who has continued to push the lie that the 2020 election was rigged and repeatedly railed against early voting, cast his vote in person in West Palm Beach, Florida, more than a week before Nov. 3.

How to watch PBS' special midterms coverage

Watch the PBS News' special coverage of the 2026 midterms in the player above.

On Election Day, our website will feature live state-by-state result maps and breakdowns of key races.

Live PBS News special coverage of the 2026 midterms will begin at 6 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Co-anchors Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett will lead our election night coverage, along with analysts and campaign strategists who will provide takeaways throughout the evening.

Our panel includes:

• Amy Walter, editor-in-chief of The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter
• David Brooks, staff writer at The Atlantic
• Mo Elleithee, Democratic strategist and former Democratic National Committee spokesperson
• Doug Heye, Republican strategist and former Republican National Committee spokesperson
• Kimberly Atkins Stohr, columnist at The Boston Globe
• Tiffany Smiley, former Republican U.S. Senate candidate

PBS News will provide live ASL interpretation for the event provided by our partners at D-PAN.

Check your local listings to find the PBS station near you, watch online here or in the video player above.

You can also follow along on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok, and see highlights on our Instagram.

How the Associated Press calls election winners

Watch the video in the player above.

The Associated Press is prepared to make thousands of race calls in midterm contests this Election Day.

How does the process work? Digital correspondent Deema Zein explains in this video roundup.

Some 4,000 journalists working for the AP will collect results from local voting precincts and election offices across the country. Around 1,000 vote-entry clerks will answer calls from those AP workers to enter candidates' vote totals into the news agency's election night reporting system.

That data is then matched to election returns posted on county and state websites or delivered by electronic feeds to ensure accuracy. The AP's Decision Team then analyzes those results to determine who won.

How are election winners called? The AP's Decision Team is made up of journalists, data analysts and political science experts who study elections full-time. A race won't be called until a candidate has reached the point where competitors no longer have a path to victory.

A reminder: Many races are called on election night, but some take longer. For example, the AP called the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden four days later.

AP is doing something new this year. For the first time in a major general election, the AP is partnering with broadcast news networks to survey the electorate for the new Voter Poll. This questionnaire is an updated way to analyze voter demographics and motivations, and it will offer results in every state where there's a statewide election.

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