Home World US US midterms election night: your hour-by-hour guide in Irish time, from the 11pm first results to Alaska’s 6am finale

US midterms election night: your hour-by-hour guide in Irish time, from the 11pm first results to Alaska’s 6am finale

US
130 0
by
November 2, 2026November 2, 2026
The US Capitol in Washington DC

America goes to the polls on Tuesday 3 November, and for anyone in Ireland planning to follow the drama live, it is going to be a long night. Because the US moved its clocks back on Sunday, the gap between Dublin and New York is now five hours, which means the first meaningful results will not land until close to midnight Irish time, and the final polls in Alaska do not close until 6am on Wednesday.

At stake are all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 seats in the Senate, along with 36 governorships and 145 statewide ballot questions. Fox News reports that Republicans currently hold the Senate 53-47 and a wafer-thin House majority, which Reuters puts at 218-214.

Where the race stands on the eve of the vote

The final national polls point one way. Al Jazeera reports that the RealClearPolling average has Democrats ahead by 51.5% to 43.1% on the generic congressional ballot, and that an Emerson College survey taken from 24 to 26 October showed a ten-point Democratic lead. More than 51 million Americans had already cast their ballots early, according to reports cited by the broadcaster.

Translating that into seats is harder. The Fox News Power Rankings rate the House as favouring the Democrats, who need a net gain of only three or four seats to take control, depending on how vacancies are counted. The Senate is rated a toss-up. Democrats would need a net gain of four seats there, because Vice President JD Vance breaks any 50-50 tie in the Republicans’ favour.

Pollsters are urging caution. Natalie Jackson, a political analyst quoted by Al Jazeera, said Democrats could be fairly confident of the House but that “the Senate picture is unclear”, with close races vulnerable to polling error.

Your hour-by-hour guide in Irish time (Tuesday night into Wednesday)

The poll closing times below are based on schedules published by Fox News and the election site 270toWin, converted from US Eastern Time to Irish time (GMT). Several states straddle time zones, so parts of a state can close an hour later than the rest.

  • 11pm Tuesday: First polls close in the eastern parts of Indiana and Kentucky. Fox News singles out Kentucky’s 6th district, which Donald Trump won by 15 points in 2024, as an early warning sign if it is close.
  • Midnight: Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia, most of Florida, and the rest of Indiana and Kentucky. South Carolina’s Senate race is one Fox rates a toss-up.
  • 12.30am Wednesday: North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia. Ohio’s Senate seat is rated Lean Democrat by Fox, a striking shift in a state Mr Trump carried comfortably.
  • 1am: The big wave: Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee and others, plus most of Texas, Michigan and Kansas. Maine and Texas are both Senate toss-ups, and Michigan is the one Democratic-held seat Fox lists in that category.
  • 1.30am: Arkansas.
  • 2am: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, Wisconsin and more, along with the western edges of Texas, Michigan and Kansas. Iowa’s Senate race is a toss-up and Wisconsin has an open governor’s race.
  • 3am: Nevada, Montana, Utah and most of Idaho and Oregon. Nevada’s governorship is one to watch.
  • 4am: California and Washington. California votes on a one-off 5% wealth tax on billionaires; Washington on repealing a tax on income over $1 million.
  • 5am: Hawaii and most of Alaska.
  • 6am: The last Alaskan polls close. Alaska has both a Senate and a governor’s race rated toss-up by Fox.

Why you may not get an answer by breakfast

Closing times are not calling times. Al Jazeera notes that while first results come quickly after polls shut, some tight races may take far longer to call. States differ in how fast they count postal and early ballots, and western states such as California and Alaska are traditionally slow. If control of the Senate comes down to one or two narrow contests, Irish readers could be waking up on Wednesday, or even Thursday, with no final verdict.

For a practical plan: the 1am wave is the moment the night takes shape, because by then a clutch of the key Senate and House races in the east will be reporting. Night owls who make it to 2am will see the Midwest battlegrounds. Everyone else can set an alarm for 7am and catch up.

What happens next

Whatever the outcome, the new Congress is not sworn in until January. If Democrats win either chamber, they gain the power to block legislation and launch investigations into the Trump administration, which Reuters reports the White House is already preparing for. A clean Republican hold would give President Trump a far freer hand for his final two years. Connemara Journal will have results and analysis through Wednesday.

Sources

Featured image: US Capitol west side by Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Powered by CookieAdmin