By — Joshua Barajas Joshua Barajas By — Jenna Cohen Jenna Cohen Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-to-watch-midterm-election-results-with-pbs-newshour Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter How to watch midterm election results with PBS NewsHour Politics Nov 7, 2022 2:42 PM EST In the final week before Nov. 8, Democrats and Republicans have been pushing their key campaign messages on the trail and have spent about $766 million on ads. Why? The 2022 midterm elections will determine which political party will control Congress for the last two years of President Joe Biden’s term, and voters are going to the polls with issues like the economy, abortion, crime and nothing short of the fate of democracy on their minds. For his part, Biden hit the road to renew his warning that democracy is in danger from the baseless claims about a stolen election, fueled by former President Donald Trump. Those falsehoods “fueled the dangerous rise of political violence and voter intimidation over the past two years,” Biden said in a speech this week. As is always the case, who actually turns out to vote will be a major factor in many tight races this year. How to watch the PBS NewsHour’s special midterms coverage Live, special coverage of the 2022 midterms will begin at 8 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Managing editor Judy Woodruff will anchor our Election Day coverage and will be joined by a panel of analysts and campaign strategists who will provide takeaways into the night. Check your local listings to find the PBS station near you, or watch online here or in the player above. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Email Address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. NewsHour correspondents will provide additional reporting from Washington, Pennsylvania and Arizona, while PBS station reporters will offer insights from across the country. Digital anchor Nicole Ellis will host a pre-show in the hours ahead of our special coverage, starting at 3:30 p.m. EST. You can also follow the NewsHour’s live coverage on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok, and see highlights on our Instagram. More on the races that could determine the balance of power in Congress: All 435 House seats up for grabs. To take over the House, Republicans need to gain just a net total of five seats. Here are some key races to watch. Meanwhile, 35 Senate seats are up for election. Both parties are vying for control over a chamber that’s currently evenly divided. Here are the races we’re watching closely. The control of dozens of governor’s seats are also on the ballot this year. Both parties are hoping to flip some of the 36 states that have gubernatorial matchups. Oklahoma’s governor’s race is one to watch. The state’s largest tribes made a historic endorsement for the incumbent governor’s Democratic challenger in a closer-than-expected race. A record number of Black candidates are running on GOP tickets this election cycle. Here’s why that matters. What matters most to midterm voters With days to go before the midterms, registered voters overall said inflation is the No. 1 priority, according to the latest poll from the NewsHour, NPR and Marist. Image by Megan McGrew/PBS NewsHour Democratic and Republican voters are not aligned on what matters most. Fifty-four percent of Republicans see inflation as the top issue, as do 40 percent of independents. Meanwhile, 42 percent of Democrats say preserving democracy is their biggest voting issue. Abortion mattered most to 14 percent of Americans, including 22 percent of Democrats. While a lot of attention has been on contests at the top of the ballot, there’s also a lot more at stake in the midterms: Abortion is on the ballot in several states. We take a look at how abortion is being debated at the state level. In Louisiana, Democrats have seized on the issue to motivate voters. Climate change is a crisis of increasing urgency in Missouri as the state’s voters head to the polls. After a year of extreme floods and severe drought, what is Missouri doing about climate change? Medicaid expansion is on the ballot in South Dakota. Here’s what the pregnant and uninsured face in South Dakota. What’s keeping young voters engaged ahead of midterms? Voters under the age of 30 are projected to keep up or break records on turnout this year. Candidates make their last pitches to Latino voters in Nevada. Concerns over inflation and cost of living have made Democratic incumbents vulnerable. 55,000 people with prior felony convictions can now vote in North Carolina. Here’s what that means for the midterms. A tight race for an open Senate seat in North Carolina has also largely stayed under the radar. We also look at close races in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Who runs elections in your state? Use our map Every state needs a chief elections officer – or CEO – who runs elections. The responsibilities of this official (or sometimes a group of officials) vary depending on the state, but they are often charged with maintaining a voter registration database, approving voting equipment and certifying election results. In the majority of states, the CEO is the secretary of state (SoS), but sometimes it’s the lieutenant governor or chair of an appointed elections board. The way a person becomes CEO – be it an election or appointment – also varies. Do you know who conducts elections in your state? We made a map to help you find that info. We also discuss why knowing your SoS can help you better understand your state’s election procedures so that you may become a more informed voter. More on voting and election security from our coverage: A quick and necessary reminder: It’s normal not to know the official results on election night. The Associated Press explains why. State laws have different approaches to counting ballots. We look at the role mail-in voting could play in the midterms. Americans should have confidence in the election process, this expert says. Here’s why. Lingering lies about the 2020 election are posting new risks of political violence and voter intimidation. We discuss how local officials can protect their residents. Two Michigan cities are providing ballots in Arabic for the first time in the state’s history. By — Joshua Barajas Joshua Barajas Joshua Barajas is a senior editor for the PBS NewsHour's Communities Initiative. He also the senior editor and manager of newsletters. @Josh_Barrage By — Jenna Cohen Jenna Cohen Jenna Cohen is the Roy W. Howard fellow at PBS NewsHour. Working on the digital team, she specializes in data, design and graphics. @jennarcohen
In the final week before Nov. 8, Democrats and Republicans have been pushing their key campaign messages on the trail and have spent about $766 million on ads. Why? The 2022 midterm elections will determine which political party will control Congress for the last two years of President Joe Biden’s term, and voters are going to the polls with issues like the economy, abortion, crime and nothing short of the fate of democracy on their minds. For his part, Biden hit the road to renew his warning that democracy is in danger from the baseless claims about a stolen election, fueled by former President Donald Trump. Those falsehoods “fueled the dangerous rise of political violence and voter intimidation over the past two years,” Biden said in a speech this week. As is always the case, who actually turns out to vote will be a major factor in many tight races this year. How to watch the PBS NewsHour’s special midterms coverage Live, special coverage of the 2022 midterms will begin at 8 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Managing editor Judy Woodruff will anchor our Election Day coverage and will be joined by a panel of analysts and campaign strategists who will provide takeaways into the night. Check your local listings to find the PBS station near you, or watch online here or in the player above. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Email Address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. NewsHour correspondents will provide additional reporting from Washington, Pennsylvania and Arizona, while PBS station reporters will offer insights from across the country. Digital anchor Nicole Ellis will host a pre-show in the hours ahead of our special coverage, starting at 3:30 p.m. EST. You can also follow the NewsHour’s live coverage on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok, and see highlights on our Instagram. More on the races that could determine the balance of power in Congress: All 435 House seats up for grabs. To take over the House, Republicans need to gain just a net total of five seats. Here are some key races to watch. Meanwhile, 35 Senate seats are up for election. Both parties are vying for control over a chamber that’s currently evenly divided. Here are the races we’re watching closely. The control of dozens of governor’s seats are also on the ballot this year. Both parties are hoping to flip some of the 36 states that have gubernatorial matchups. Oklahoma’s governor’s race is one to watch. The state’s largest tribes made a historic endorsement for the incumbent governor’s Democratic challenger in a closer-than-expected race. A record number of Black candidates are running on GOP tickets this election cycle. Here’s why that matters. What matters most to midterm voters With days to go before the midterms, registered voters overall said inflation is the No. 1 priority, according to the latest poll from the NewsHour, NPR and Marist. Image by Megan McGrew/PBS NewsHour Democratic and Republican voters are not aligned on what matters most. Fifty-four percent of Republicans see inflation as the top issue, as do 40 percent of independents. Meanwhile, 42 percent of Democrats say preserving democracy is their biggest voting issue. Abortion mattered most to 14 percent of Americans, including 22 percent of Democrats. While a lot of attention has been on contests at the top of the ballot, there’s also a lot more at stake in the midterms: Abortion is on the ballot in several states. We take a look at how abortion is being debated at the state level. In Louisiana, Democrats have seized on the issue to motivate voters. Climate change is a crisis of increasing urgency in Missouri as the state’s voters head to the polls. After a year of extreme floods and severe drought, what is Missouri doing about climate change? Medicaid expansion is on the ballot in South Dakota. Here’s what the pregnant and uninsured face in South Dakota. What’s keeping young voters engaged ahead of midterms? Voters under the age of 30 are projected to keep up or break records on turnout this year. Candidates make their last pitches to Latino voters in Nevada. Concerns over inflation and cost of living have made Democratic incumbents vulnerable. 55,000 people with prior felony convictions can now vote in North Carolina. Here’s what that means for the midterms. A tight race for an open Senate seat in North Carolina has also largely stayed under the radar. We also look at close races in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Who runs elections in your state? Use our map Every state needs a chief elections officer – or CEO – who runs elections. The responsibilities of this official (or sometimes a group of officials) vary depending on the state, but they are often charged with maintaining a voter registration database, approving voting equipment and certifying election results. In the majority of states, the CEO is the secretary of state (SoS), but sometimes it’s the lieutenant governor or chair of an appointed elections board. The way a person becomes CEO – be it an election or appointment – also varies. Do you know who conducts elections in your state? We made a map to help you find that info. We also discuss why knowing your SoS can help you better understand your state’s election procedures so that you may become a more informed voter. More on voting and election security from our coverage: A quick and necessary reminder: It’s normal not to know the official results on election night. The Associated Press explains why. State laws have different approaches to counting ballots. We look at the role mail-in voting could play in the midterms. Americans should have confidence in the election process, this expert says. Here’s why. Lingering lies about the 2020 election are posting new risks of political violence and voter intimidation. We discuss how local officials can protect their residents. Two Michigan cities are providing ballots in Arabic for the first time in the state’s history.