Here's how to watch election night as the polls close, hour-by-hour
Vote counting will start Tuesday night but could go on for days or even weeks.
uncertain
counting → watch → days
While control of the House could become clear sooner because of bigger margins, control of the Senate could take much longer — the margins are tighter, seven states are especially competitive and two states use ranked choice voting which can prolong count time.
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which → become → time
Control of the House likely won't come down to one seat, but control of the Senate very well could.
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control → come → Senate
As results are being tallied, here is a guide to watch election night as polls close across the country (all times in Eastern Time and organized by latest poll close time).
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polls → tally → time
:
7 p.m. ET | 7:30 p.m. ET | 8 p.m. ET | 8:30 p.m. ET | 9 p.m. ET | 10 p.m. ET | 11 p.m. ET | 12 a.m. ET | 1 a.m. ET
7 p.m. ET: Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont
To get things started, all eyes are on the senate and gubernatorial races in Georgia and Florida.
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eyes → get → Georgia
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is likely to defeat Republican Rep. Mike Collins in the race for Senate.
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Ossoff → defeat → Senate
Despite delays in elections past, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has told local news that new laws require counties to report results within an hour of polls closing.
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polls → tell → hour
This is an unexpectedly tight Senate race between Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to the seat after her brother Linsdey Graham died, and Democratic nominee Annie Andrews.
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brother → appoint → seat
Many national polls say the race in this heavily Republican state is a toss up, while the Cook Political Report says Republicans have the advantage.
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Republicans → say → advantage
Polls and pundits show North Carolina's Republican-held Senate seat is the most likely flip for the Democrats.
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seat → show → Democrats
The last time Democrats won a Senate race in the state was in 2008, and the path to a Democratic majority becomes much less likely if the party loses this one.
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party → win → one
This is the first of the seven tight Senate races on Tuesday night that could define control of the Senate.
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that → define → Senate
Ohio used to be thought of as a swing state but in the last decade, it's become solidly Republican, so the close races have attracted attention.
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races → use → attention
For governor, former state health director, Democrat Amy Acton is leading in the polls against venture capitalist, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who recently launched an attack ad against Acton featuring her estranged mother.
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who → lead → mother
The blowback to the ad was so significant, it could hurt Husted as well as Ramaswamy.
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it → hurt → Husted
8 p.m.: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington, D.C.
Polls would now be closed in more than half the country.
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Polls → close → country
But Collins has remained resilient in face of challenges in the past.
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Collins → remain → past
This is another seat targeted by Democrats to pick up, in the only place a Republican holds a Senate seat in a state won by Kamala Harris in 2024.
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Republican → target → 2024
Florida: Another former swing state that has become solidly red in recent elections, the governor's race between Republican Rep. Byron Donalds and his Democratic opponent David Jolly favors Republicans.
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race → become → Republicans
But for Donalds to hold only a slight poll advantage follows the national trend of Republicans lagging behind in traditional strongholds.
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Republicans → hold → strongholds
Incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody is poised to win over Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon.
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Moody → poise → Nixon
Florida is a state that redrew its congressional maps ahead of this election and this will be the first test.
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this → redrew → election
According to the Cook Political Report, seven House seats are competitive with two toss-ups.
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seats → accord → ups
For a significant portion of this election cycle, Pennsylvania has been the state with the most competitive House races — four, including three toss-ups.
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Pennsylvania → include → ups
But as the map has solidified in the last month, all three toss-ups now lean toward Democrats.
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ups → solidify → Democrats
Democrats could have a big night here.
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Democrats → have → night
At one point, this race was quite close but the gap between Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas and former Republican Sen. John Sununu has widened, giving Pappas the edge.
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gap → widen → edge
Still, New Hampshire is a state with a popular Republican governor expected to win in the same election and Republicans see this as a potential long-shot pick up opportunity.
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Republicans → expect → opportunity
The Senate race is not very competitive but if Republicans' margin is smaller than usual, that could show that Democrats got more votes than usual in places that they haven't traditionally won.
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they → show → that
Plus, there's a House race here that Republicans have poured money into in the final days.
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Republicans → be → days
At this point, polls are closed in more than 80% of the states.
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polls → close → states
Eyes and energy will begin shifting to initial results out of Iowa, Kansas, Michigan and Texas, where competitive senate races are at play that could decide control of the chamber.
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that → begin → chamber
One of the most competitive gubernatorial contests is happening in this swing state.
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One → happen → state
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is hoping to fend off MAGA-aligned Republican Rep. Andy Biggs.
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Hobbs → hop → Biggs
This has tilted toward Hobbs at the end but Arizona is known for an independent streak in politics.
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Arizona → tilt → politics
Three of those states are reliably Republican and Democrats' ability to be neck-and-neck in those states shows the frustration voters feel about the economy and the Trump presidency.
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voters → show → economy
In Texas, a Democrat hasn't won statewide since the early 1990s.
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Democrat → win → 1990s
Democratic nominee state Rep. James Talarico faces off against Republican nominee Ken Paxton, who has had to grapple with a scandal-riddled past.
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who → face → past
Talarico could take an early lead as early voting data and mail in ballots are counted but Paxton will probably start to gain ground as counties will start reporting their totals.
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counties → take → totals
Kansas Republicans are trying to keep Sen. Roger Marshall in the Senate.
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Republicans → try → Senate
…and 33 more, not listed.
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