Welcome to our election night coverage for the closely watched races in Pennsylvania, New York and New Hampshire. The polls close at 8 pm eastern in Pennsylvania and 9 pm in New York. Because New Hampshire is so stubbornly independent, polls in different areas can close whenever they like, as long as it’s no earlier than 7. So it will be well into the evening before we get an idea as to whether any winners will be declared or if we’ll be kept waiting for days due to “unforeseen complications.” If any updates are merited before the bedtime of old fogeys like me, we’ll add them at the top of the page. Below, you will find constantly updating widgets with the numbers from the various races as they become available, so check back as needed.
Pennsylvania
The hottest ticket in the Keystone State will clearly be the Senate Race between Dr. Oz and the stroke-addled Democrat, John Fetterman. Record numbers of people voted early and by mail which should produce two effects to keep an eye out for. First, that means that a lot of people cast their votes before Fetterman’s disastrous trainwreck of a debate, so that may work to his advantage. But the early voting split was 70/30 in favor of Democrats. That means that the early count may be Republican-heavy, but as the mail-in ballots are counted, Democrats might see a late surge. That doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s any hanky-panky going on, but we’ll keep our eyes open just the same.
The governor’s race seems to have slipped out of the Republicans’ reach at this point. But you may want to keep an eye on the 7th Congressional District where Republican Susan Wild appears to have pulled into a tie or even a slight lead after trailing her Democratic opponent in September.
New York
There should be plenty of action to monitor in New York for a change. The normally solid blue state has been experiencing an upheaval this season. Unelected Governor Kathy Hochul was still a slight favorite to win during the last round of polling, but she has been neck and neck with Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin. I won’t be holding my breath, but if Zeldin pulls this out it will hit New York like a magnitude 7 political earthquake.
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We’ll also be watching the overall basket of congressional races. The recent redistricting has made four or possibly even five districts considerably more competitive, with some even leaning toward the GOP. If an actual red wave is coming ashore, New York’s congressional delegation could deliver yet another significant batch of flipped seats to a potential House Majority for the Republicans.
New Hampshire
The big story out of the Granite State is obviously the Senate race where Republican Don Bolduc is trying to unseat Democrat Maggie Hassan. Hassan had previously been expected to bring in another close but reliable victory. But the race has been polling within one or two points for weeks now and the momentum appeared to be swinging Bolduc’s way. If he can pull this off, it will take some of the pressure off of the other tight Senate races around the country and create a smoother path to the GOP retaking the majority.
New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District features a Republican woman, Karoline Leavitt, who would be the youngest woman ever elected to Congress if she unseats her opponent, incumbent Democrat Chris Pappas. That race is currently in the toss-up category, with the last two polls prior to the election showing the candidates either tied or Leavitt having a small lead.
The tracking widgets I promised above follow:
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