Seven hours is a long time to stare at a map. ABC is betting you’ll do it anyway on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with seven hours of live ABC midterm election coverage under the banner “ABC News Election Night: Vote 2026.” David Muir leads the primetime special, according to trade outlet NewscastStudio.
Where to watch ABC’s midterm election coverage
Coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. Central) on the ABC broadcast network. It also streams at the same time on Disney+, Hulu and ABC News Live, so cord-cutters are covered. ABC News Radio begins several hours of anchored coverage at 7 p.m. too.
That start is earlier than ABC’s 2022 midterm plan. Back then, Muir anchored on ABC News Live at 7 p.m. but full network coverage waited until 8 p.m., ABC’s own 2022 schedule shows. NewscastStudio does not say when the seven hours end. Do the math and you land around 2 a.m. ET, but that is arithmetic, not an announcement.
Who anchors the ABC Election Night coverage
Muir is the headliner. Linsey Davis, who anchors “Prime” on ABC News Live, joins him. So do Martha Raddatz and Jonathan Karl, the “This Week” co-anchors. ABC News Live will bring reports from competitive states and candidate interviews. Its “Ballot Watch” team will also look at voting issues.
Before Election Day, the network is rolling out “The Midterms Frontline.” The three-part series covers contests in Michigan, Maine and Texas. ABC has not confirmed air dates. One note for our Texas readers: the Lone Star State is one of the three places ABC picked for a close-up.
The ABC News app adds a dedicated election section. It carries live results and a running tally of the balance of power in Congress, so the ABC midterm special follows you off the couch.
The rest of the dial
ABC is not alone. According to Yahoo News’ viewing guide, NewsNation’s primetime coverage also starts at 7 p.m. ET. Chris Cuomo, Elizabeth Vargas, Katie Pavlich and Chris Stirewalt coanchor it. Yahoo also lists a late-night program with Jonathan Capehart, Eugene Daniels and Jackie Alemany. A “Morning Joe” special follows on Wednesday. The portion we reviewed does not name the late-night network.
Not sure how much to trust the numbers you see all night? Our look at why trust polls on the vote count range so widely explains the gap.
Why this ABC News election broadcast may not be overkill
Here’s the thing: networks don’t clear this much airtime for a sleepy night. Every House seat is on the ballot, plus a slate of Senate seats. Democrats are hoping to flip both chambers. Republicans, President Trump included, want to hold their majority, per Yahoo’s guide. ABC News itself rates 16 House races as tossups going into Election Day, according to its elections hub.
Tossups are how long nights happen. A race too close to call at 10 p.m. can still hang in the balance at 2 a.m. That is exactly when the seven hours earn their keep.
How to follow ABC midterm results coverage like a pro
Pick your screen, but don’t trust a single projection. No race is called until a network or the Associated Press says so. Different outlets can also call the same race at different times. If two sources disagree, wait. Polls close at different hours state by state, so the early evening tells you little about the final map.
Ballot fights could also shape the count. See the court fight over 20,000 California mail ballots for one example.
The big question is the one every network hopes to answer by midnight: who controls Congress when the sun comes up?
If the tossups split down the middle, the answer may take all seven hours and then some.
