Election night 2026

19:21 CST. We lead off tonight with completely unsurprising results from Illinois: JB Pritzker sailed to his 3rd term as Governor, Lt Governor Julianna Stratton won outgoing Senate minority whip Dick Durbin's seat, and we have absolutely no idea who won any of the board elections. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has declared that Democrat Jon Ossoff has won re-election to the Senate as well.

Now for the good stuff: According to the New York Times, Democrat Roy Cooper has flipped North Carolina's Senate seat and in New Hampshire Democrat Chris Pappas easily defeated John E Sununu for the Senate. So far, all of the called Senate races have gone to Democrats, but we still have 29 left to go.

19:43: The AP has called Florida Senate for incumbent Republican Ashley Moody 50.8% to Angie Nixon's 48.1%, which is a D+11 swing from the OAFPOTUS's win in 2024. This means nothing for the rest of the country, but it's an interesting data point.

19:53: Our first Democratic pickup in the House: Jamie Ager in NC-11, which includes the westernmost end of the state, including Asheville. This is interesting because the Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature redrew the district in 2023 to dilute Asheville's relative weight. In 2024, Republican Chuck Edwards won 56.8% to Caleb Rudow's 43.2%. With almost 4/5ths of votes tallied, the district is showing a D+17 flip. Nice job fixing it, villain!

20:01: Here we go. Polls just closed in 15 states including Texas, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. So far no surprises: The Times calls Democrats Kathy Hochul for New York Governor and John Hickenlooper for Colorado Senate.

20:07: "The White House just released President Trump’s schedule for tomorrow, and as of now, he has no public events. The schedule says he has four policy meetings at the White House, but they are all closed to the press." (NYT)

20:27: Republican Andy Barr holds onto the Senate seat in Kentucky for the Republicans, but with 80% of the votes reporting, we see a D+12 swing there. Meanwhile, Republican Byron Donalds will become the first Black governor of Florida, barely defeating David Jolly 50.1%-48.6%. That's a D+8 shift from 2022. Ohio, Michigan, Texas, and Iowa are still counting votes.

20:31: I'm now 3-for-3 on the top offices on my ballot: Democrat Dan Biss has won IL-9. He was projected to win by 65 points, so this is hardly a shocking outcome. More interesting, though, is Keisha Lance Bottoms solidly defeating Rick Jackson for Georgia Governor. Nice!

20:47: US Senator Rafael Warnock (D-GA) said Sunday that he was "nauseously optimistic," a feeling I share. But you know who is completely unfazed by tonight's news? This girl:

20:54: Tonight's second House flip sees Rebecca Bennett defeating Tom Kean in NJ-7. Kean, you may recall, vanished for several months this year, and was not expected to do well tonight. With about 3/4 of votes counted, this looks like a D+9 swing.

21:12: W000000t! AP and the Times call South Carolina Senate for Annie Andrews, defeating deceased Senator Lindsey Graham's sister Darline, and becoming the first Democrat to hold the seat since racist POS Strom Thurmond switched parties in 1964. This one feels great, and represents a D+8 shift from 2024 with 90% of the votes counted.

21:17: Zach Dembo flips KY-6, vacated by US Senator Elect Andy Barr in what appears to be a D+15 shift.

21:30: Bob Brooks defeats Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in PA-7; only a D+6 shift, but it's Allentown, Pa.

21:43: Two more pickups in Pennsylvania as the 8th district goes to Paige Cognetti in a D+5 shift and the 10th goes to Janelle Stelson also at D+5. In Arkansas, Republican governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Republican US Senator Tom Cotton have held their offices.

21:50: Amy Acton has defeated entitled slimebucket Vivek Ramaswamy for Ohio Governor. Unfortunately, no narcissistic asshole as unctious and loathesome as Ramaswamy is likely to disappear from politics as a result. With 85% of votes counted, this is a D+12 shift. In the Ohio 15th, Don Leonard flipped Republican Mike Carey into retirement. And in New York City, voters approved five ballot initiatives giving the mayor more power to build housing, increase bike lane coverage, and expand outdoor dining.

22:03: Texas governor Greg Abbott has conceded to Gina Hinojosa just now, and the AP has called James Talarico over Ken Paxton in a stunning D+17 shift from Kamala Harris's vote share in 2024.

22:09: After one of the bitterest House fights in this cycle, Rep. Mike Lawler has conceded to Cait Conley in the New York 17th. And Sherrod Brown has removed Republican John Husted's nice ass from the Senate.