Election Day is finally upon us and there are a tremendous number of crucial races spanning coast to coast. With so many critical Senate races around the country, it’s hard to keep it all in perspective. Here’s a guide to what’s happening tonight, when to expect results, and the early returns to watch to get a sense of which party will be in control of the House and Senate.
If you’re looking for results by state, check our Election Day poll closing guide for detailed information on Governor, Senate, and House races.
Election Day 2022 – Live Results
Here’s a live stream from Fox News which will be streaming live updates all night.
Alternate Election Day Live Streams: NewsmaxTV, RSBN (Rumble), CBS News (YouTube), ABC News (YouTube)
What to Watch
Some of the earliest indications of the much-discussed “red wave” could come during the 7:00 pm hour in Georgia and Virginia. While the Old Dominion does not feature a Senate race, there are several contested House races such as VA-7, VA-10, and VA-2. The 7th district was won narrowly by Democrat Abigail Spanberger in 2020 and is ripe for a GOP pickup this year. If Republican Yesli Vega manages to win, the question will be looking at what kind of vote margin she’s getting. Is she squeaking by or will this be the early indicator of an impending red wave?
In Virginia’s 10th district, Democrat Jennifer Wexton is favored but the race has become a toss-up. If Republican Hung Cao manages to pull a victory here, the red wave could truly be historic since not even Glenn Youngkin managed to win the area of the 10th Congressional District last year in the race for governor.
Further south, in Georgia, we’ll start getting results in the highly contested Senate and Governor races. Again, the question is the margin. Republican Brian Kemp is expected to win re-election over Democrat Stacey Abrams, but by how much? Will he be running ahead of Republican Herschel Walker in his quest to unseat Democrat Raphael Warnock in the Senate race? The Walker-Warnock race is the first opportunity of the night for Republicans to pick up a Senate seat. If that happens definitively, and doesn’t end in the need for a run-off on Dec. 6, then the GOP would be on track to likely control the Senate.
If some of the swing Virginia House races, and elsewhere, such as Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, and South Carolina, are trending Republican, it could be a big night for the GOP.
If the Senate and Governor’s race in Georgia is also trending to Republicans by solid numbers, it could be the start of a strong red wave.
On the other hand, if the 7 pm hour is weaker than expected for the GOP, Democrats may have a shot in other tight races ending later in the night like Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.
Poll Closing Times
If you’re looking for the shortened version of when polls close in some of the critical Senate races, here’s a shortened rundown of when the action will start later this evening. For the complete picture, check our detailed state-by-state poll closing guide.
-7:00 pm ET-
Senate Races: Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont
Governor Races: Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont
-7:30 pm ET-
Senate Races: North Carolina, Ohio
Governor Races: Ohio
-8:00 pm ET-
Senate Races: Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania
Governor Races: Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee
-8:30 pm ET-
Senate Races: Arkansas
Governor Races: Arkansas
-9:00 pm ET-
Senate Races: Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Kansas, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin
Governor Races: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming
-10:00 pm ET-
Senate Races: Iowa, Nevada, Utah
Governor Races: Iowa, Nevada
-11:00 pm ET-
Senate Races: California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington (state)
Governor Races: California, Idaho, Oregon
-12:00 am ET-
Senate Races: Hawaii
Governor Races: Hawaii
-1:00 am ET-
Senate Races: Alaska
Governor Races: Alaska
Results
This post may be updated throughout the day.
