Results from the 2026 US midterm elections will begin to emerge once the first polling places close at 6pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, or 4:30am IST on Wednesday, starting with parts of Indiana and Kentucky. The timing of those first returns varies by state, and early tallies are not the same as final outcomes.
When polls close
Closing times are staggered across the country, so results will arrive in waves through the night:
- 6pm ET (4:30am IST): parts of Indiana and Kentucky
- 7pm ET (5:30am IST): most of Florida, Georgia and Virginia
- 8pm ET (6:30am IST): Pennsylvania, Maine, and most of Michigan and Texas
- 9pm ET (7:30am IST): Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin
- 11pm ET (9:30am IST): California
- 1am ET (11:30am IST): the last polls in western Alaska
Why the first numbers are not the final result
Early tallies should not be read as definitive. Outlets such as the Associated Press call a race only when the margin is clear, which means a leading count can stand for some time before a contest is formally projected.
Counting rules in several states could stretch the process out further. Mail ballots and ranked-choice counting in Alaska, Maine, California, Nevada and Arizona could delay close races by days. As a result, control of Congress may not be known on election night.
