Election night 2026: an hour-by-hour guide to the Senate races that matter
Dated editorial analysis; figures in this article are not recalculated automatically. Visit the linked race pages for current data.
All times Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Election night can feel chaotic. Results arrive from dozens of states at different times, early numbers swing back and forth, and some races are called within minutes while others take weeks. This guide puts the competitive Senate races in the order their polls close, explains what to look for at each stage, and flags the races most likely to stay uncalled after the night ends.
A note on times: daylight saving time ends on November 1, so all times below are in Eastern Standard Time. Several states span two time zones, and in those states the last polling places close an hour after the rest. We list the time when most polls close. Always check your own state's official election website for local voting hours. Our poll closing times page has the full state-by-state list.
7:00 p.m. ET — Georgia and New Hampshire
Georgia (Ossoff vs. Collins, Likely D) closes at 7 p.m. Georgia counts quickly, and much of its early vote is reported soon after polls close. One thing to remember: Georgia requires a candidate to win more than 50% of the vote. If no one does, the top two go to a runoff several weeks later. With minor candidates on the ballot, a close race could be pushed into a runoff.
New Hampshire (Pappas vs. Sununu, open seat, Cook toss-up) closes at 7 p.m. in most towns, with some staying open until 8 p.m. New Hampshire reports town by town, and small towns often report first. Those early towns are not a random sample, so a candidate who leads in the first hour may not lead at the end.
7:30 p.m. ET — North Carolina and Ohio
North Carolina (Cooper vs. Whatley, open seat, Lean D) is the Democrats' best pickup opportunity. North Carolina usually reports its early in-person and mail votes in the first batch. Because those votes can lean differently from election day votes, the margin often moves during the night.
Ohio (Brown vs. Husted, special election, Cook toss-up) is one of the most important early signals of the night. If Brown is running ahead of the 2024 presidential result in Ohio's suburban counties, it is a good sign for Democrats nationally. If Husted holds those counties, Democrats' path to a majority gets much narrower.
8:00 p.m. ET — Maine, Michigan and Texas
This is the busiest hour of the night for the Senate.
Maine (Jackson vs. Collins, Cook toss-up) closes at 8 p.m. Maine uses ranked-choice voting, so if no candidate wins more than half of the first-choice votes, the result will not be final on election night. The state runs the ranked-choice count afterwards, which can take several days.
Michigan (El-Sayed vs. Rogers, open seat, Cook toss-up) closes at 8 p.m. in most of the state, and 9 p.m. in a few western Upper Peninsula counties. Michigan's largest cities can report later in the night, so watch which counties have reported before reading too much into the statewide margin.
Texas (Talarico vs. Paxton, open seat, Cook toss-up) closes at 8 p.m. ET in most of the state and 9 p.m. ET in the far west, including El Paso. Texas counts early votes fast, so the first results are often a large share of the total. A Democrat who leads big in the first Texas batch will usually see that lead shrink as election day votes from rural counties come in.
Kansas (Hamilton vs. Marshall, Lean R) also closes at 8 p.m. ET in most of the state.
9:00 p.m. ET — Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota
Iowa (Turek vs. Hinson, open seat, Cook toss-up) closes at 9 p.m. ET. Iowa has been one of the faster-counting states in recent elections.
Nebraska (Osborn vs. Ricketts, Likely R) closes at 9 p.m. ET in most of the state. Watch Omaha and Lincoln: an independent needs very large margins in the cities to offset the rest of the state.
Minnesota (Flanagan vs. Tafoya, open seat, Likely D) closes at 9 p.m. ET.
10:00 p.m. ET and later — Montana and the West
Montana (three-way open seat, Solid R) closes at 10 p.m. ET. Western states that mainly vote by mail, such as Oregon, Washington and California, close at 11 p.m. ET, but none of their Senate races are expected to be competitive this year.
Midnight ET — Alaska
Alaska (Peltola vs. Sullivan, toss-up) closes at midnight ET in most of the state, with the far western Aleutian Islands an hour later. Do not expect a winner on election night. Alaska accepts mail ballots that arrive for several days after the election, and it uses ranked-choice voting. If no one has a majority in the first round, the ranked-choice tabulation is not run until the count is complete, which in recent elections has been about two weeks after election day.
What early results can and cannot tell you
Four habits will help you read the night accurately:
- Check what share of the vote is in. A 10-point lead with 5% of the vote counted means very little.
- Know which votes are being counted. Early, mail and election-day votes often lean in different directions, and states report them in different orders.
- Look at counties, not only the statewide total. Comparing a county's result with how it voted last time is often the fastest way to see where a race is heading.
- Wait for the call. News organizations call races when they are confident the remaining votes cannot change the result. A race being "uncalled" late at night usually just means there are still many votes to count.
Which races could stay open for days
Based on how these states count, the races most likely to stay uncalled after election night are:
- Alaska, because of late mail ballots and ranked-choice voting.
- Maine, if no one wins a first-round majority.
- Georgia, if no one clears 50% and the race goes to a runoff.
- Any race that ends within one percentage point, which can trigger a recount under some states' rules.
If the Senate majority depends on one of these states, the country may not know which party controls the chamber until well after November 3.
We will post results on our results page as they are reported from official sources. You can also check registration and voting deadlines on our voter guide.
Relevant race pages: Alaska Senate · Georgia Senate · Iowa Senate · Kansas Senate · Maine Senate · Michigan Senate · Minnesota Senate · Montana Senate · Nebraska Senate · New Hampshire Senate