FILE - Virginia Gubernatorial Candiate Spanberger Election Night Event A television broadcasts election results during an election night event with former Representative Abigail Spanberger, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Virginia, not picture
Newsrooms across the country will call winners for what is expected to be one of the most closely contested midterm election cycles to date.
Some may call the results earlier than others and that is due to several reasons.
The Associated Press or Decision Desk HQ?
Many news outlets rely on two providers for vote counts: The Associated Press or election data from Decision Desk HQ, according to Reuters.
There are also outlets that rely on their own projections based on a combination of results from AP, exit polls, early vote totals and their own models.
Big picture view:
Outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and MS NOW rely solely on AP for their election results.
FOX News and CBS News rely on their own results based on a combination of data from AP, exit polls, and their own models.
How does the AP call election results?
Dig deeper:
A team of experts, known as AP’s Decision Team, gathers vote numbers directly from towns and counties all across the country while studying how many ballots are still left to count and where they are coming from, according to the AP’s FAQ website.
Instead of guessing who might win, the AP only declares a winner when the math shows that the candidate in the lead is so far ahead that the other candidates have no possible mathematical way left to catch up.
If the final margin between the top two candidates is less than 0.5 percentage points, the AP typically will not declare a winner unless the lead is statistically wide enough that a recount could not overturn the result.
How does DDHQ call election results?
Instead of waiting around for someone else to tell them the numbers, DDHQ collects live vote totals directly from official county and state election offices using automated computer programs, phone calls, and reporters stationed in the field, according to the DDHQ FAQ website.
Then, their team feeds those real vote counts and estimates of uncounted ballots into advanced statistical models, only declaring a winner when their calculations show that the leading candidate's advantage is so big — reaching virtually 100% mathematical certainty — that the other candidates have no realistic path left to catch up.
How major news outlets will call 2026 midterm election results
NBC News plans to use its own models and on-the-ground reporting to call race results. ABC News and CNN plan to do the same.
FOX News will also make its own calls based on AP results.
MS NOW will base its results on AP.
The New York Times relies on the AP, though sometimes it’ll make independent calls before or even after AP’s results.
Bloomberg will use third-party sources to call race results, as well as Reuters.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press’ FAQ website published on Oct. 31, 2025, The Decision Desk HQ FAQ website, and reporting by Reuters.