#AskNewser: ABC, Fox News and NewsNation Prepare for an Unpredictable Midterm Election Night

With polls suggesting a possible blue wave, networks are preparing for that outcome, which could signal a referendum on Donald Trump’s presidency. 

However, if the results differ from polling expectations and Republicans retain control of one chamber of Congress or don’t suffer the anticipated deep losses, these networks will have to adapt, too.

As part of the return of TVNewser’s AskNewser series, we spoke to three news executives ahead of election day: ABC News’ political director, Averi Harper; Fox News, evp, Washington news and politics, Douglas Rohrbeck; and NewsNation’s political editor, Chris Stirewalt, about their preparedness, the uniqueness of this consequential election, and the tech they want to showcase on election night, among other things.

Here’s what they said.

ADWEEK: What makes covering this year’s midterm elections different from other elections, especially presidential elections?

Averi Harper: Midterms are often viewed as a referendum on the president and the party in power. This year, we’re examining how issues like affordability, immigration, and the war with Iran are influencing voters’ decisions.

Unlike a presidential election, where so much attention is focused on the two candidates atop the ticket, midterm election coverage requires us to connect the dots. It requires us to understand what’s happening in individual communities and place those developments within the broader national political environment.

Douglas Rohrbeck: Midterm elections present a different challenge because there isn’t one presidential race driving the entire national conversation. Our job is to connect those stories and make a complicated election night easy to follow. This year, we’re bringing together our extensive team of journalists, the Fox News Decision Desk, and new technology across television, streaming, and digital to deliver a comprehensive picture of what’s happening nationwide.

Chris Stirewalt: Midterm elections have much lower turnout than presidential elections, and figuring out winners and losers depends as much on who isn’t voting as on how people are voting. So missing voters are just as much a part of the story as the ones who show up.

AW: What do you think is the big unknown that news outlets should anticipate on election night?

Harper: The biggest unknown is the composition of the electorate— who shows up to the polls and who skips out.  We saw significant shifts among key voting blocs in 2024, including Latino voters and younger voters. 

We’re watching whether the enthusiasm we’ve seen among Democratic voters translates into turnout in battlegrounds and whether Republicans can mobilize their coalition without President Trump himself on the ballot.

Rohrbeck: The biggest unknown is always how the results will unfold and where the story will take us. That’s why flexibility is so important. We have correspondents positioned across the country, a seasoned anchor team, and the production capabilities to pivot quickly as developments warrant. Our priority is to be accurate, provide context, and make sure viewers understand what’s happening even as things are still developing.

Stirewalt: We know the polls will be wrong, but we don’t know by how much or in what direction. And it behooves all of us to come into the final day of the election with enough humility to say that our assumptions may or may not be true. It’s being open to the possibility that Democrats may be doing better than expected, that Republicans may again be doing better than polling suggested, or that polls are right on the money. 

AW: How are you going to differentiate yourselves from your competitors?

Harper: We’ve invested heavily in reporting from communities across the country in the run-up to elections, and we’ll have a dozen teams deployed in key states on election night. We’re combining that reporting with an unprecedented amount of data to provide a fuller picture of the electorate. Our goal is to make a complicated election night accessible, informative, and meaningful to viewers, regardless of where they’re watching.

Rohrbeck: On election night, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum bring the experience, credibility, and perspective viewers have come to expect from us. We no longer think of election night as a television broadcast that gets repurposed elsewhere. One newsgathering operation is powering distinct experiences across television, streaming, digital, audio, and social, allowing audiences to engage with our reporting wherever and however they choose.

Stirewalt: The crucial elements are independence and transparency. We are taking an NFL RedZone-style approach: we’ll follow the voters and the races as they unfold with our election data partners at Decision Desk HQ. We’re going to focus on giving people correct calls quickly and providing the context for the races that haven’t been called yet about what will be necessary to make those calls. So, I would say we’re going to have a transparent process, and we’re going to have independent race calling so that there’s no funny business.

AW: What new technology will you incorporate into your election night coverage?

Harper: I’m particularly excited about two new tools that will help us tell the story of this election in greater depth. The first is our new Voter Poll, which will give us data from every state with a Senate or gubernatorial race — 45 statewide polls in total. Our national sample will also be roughly three times the size of the 2024 National Exit Poll. That gives us an extraordinary opportunity to understand what motivated voters and how different communities cast their ballots.

We’re also introducing Vote Shift, which will allow viewers to see in real time how counties and states are voting compared with the 2024 presidential election. And we’ll be bringing all of this to viewers from our redesigned election headquarters, featuring two studios and more than 151 million LED pixels. 

Rohrbeck: We’re making a significant investment in augmented reality, data-driven graphics, and artificial intelligence to make election coverage more informative, interactive, and accessible. On television, enhanced AR technology will let us visualize county-level voting shifts, track the path to control of Congress, and bring complex election data to life in real time. On the Fox News App, we’re introducing an AI-powered election chatbot that allows users to ask questions about individual races and results and receive answers drawn directly from Fox News reporting. Combined with interactive maps and new audience engagement features, these innovations reflect how we’re thinking about the future of news consumption. 

Stirewalt: Connell McShane will be the Pat Summerall to my John Madden on election night. We have an overhauled studio in New York with great new displays, even utilizing the floor panels, so that we’ll be able to do all kinds of data visualization to talk about the calls and what’s coming next. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, and it looks fantastic.

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AW: When do you anticipate viewers will know who controls the Senate and the House?

Harper: Control of both chambers could come down to a handful of extremely competitive races, and some of those states have lengthy vote-counting processes. Our priority is accuracy over speed. We want viewers to understand not just the results, but why some races can be projected quickly while others will require patience.

Rohrbeck: Our Fox News Decision Desk will be analyzing results throughout the evening, and we’ll make projections when the data supports them. Ultimately, accuracy will always take precedence over speed. Our responsibility is to give viewers the most reliable information possible.

Stirewalt: If Democrats have been understated or if Republicans have been understated substantially, we’ll know early because we’ll see, even in the 7 o’clock hour, some strong indications about what’s going on. It’ll be too soon to say by then, but I can imagine the call on the House will come in the 9 o’clock hour, and then, depending on how close the Senate is, it could be in the wee hours, or it could be in a week. We’ll see!