Like the threat of a weekend snowstorm for the folks who work in local TV news, the arrival of Super Tuesday means one thing for cable and broadcast news: all hands on deck.
And so tonight, sit back, relax, and take in the very best that television news has to offer. Or, at the very least, some pretty whiz-bang election graphics. And maybe a speech or two. Oh, and lest we forget: plenty of Donald Trump.
Most cable coverage kicks into full swing starting at 6 p.m. ET, and the broadcast networks will have special extended editions of the evening newscasts starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. For details on the networks’ battle coverage plans, we’ve got them right here.
Quite some media attention for the @tedcruz party tonight here in Houston . We r here with @dwnews #SuperTuesday pic.twitter.com/xFSTHcxUOv
— Ines Pohl (@inespohl) March 1, 2016
And as for choosing an appropriate cocktail, wine or other beverage to best pair with whichever network you’ll be watching, well, we will leave that up to you. It’s time to saddle up and DO THIS.
6:58 p.m. ET: Polls close In the first three states of the night, Georgia, Vermont and Virginia, polls close at 7 p.m. Coverage should intensify in a matter of moments.
7:00 p.m. ET: Projections CNN projects wins in Georgia and Virginia for Hillary Clinton, and a win for Bernie Sanders in his home state of Vermont. (Or was it Maryland?)
Um, @NBCNews, you guys know that's not what Vermont looks like right? #OhMyMaryland #SuperTuesday pic.twitter.com/rJK1JfZXxN
— Towleroad (@tlrd) March 2, 2016
Crowd at Clinton result party cheered when CNN reveled she has won Virginia and Gworiga, massive boos when they brought up the GOP canidates
— Stephanie March (@steph_march) March 2, 2016
NBC News, in a special report anchored by Lester Holt, made the same calls, and also called Georgia for Donald Trump on the Republican side. The rest of the GOP races remain too close to call.
Fox News and Fox Business Network made the same calls at the top of the hour. FBN is live, while CNBC–which hosted a presidential debate–is not live on Super Tuesday (they’re airing The Filthy Rich Guide), and neither is Bloomberg (airing an election-focused Charlie Rose).
7:10 p.m. ET: Exit Polls Plenty to talk about as the networks dissect the first batch of exit polling data. At Fox News, Martha MacCallum noted plenty of voters “would be dissatisfied if DonaldTrump walked away with the nomination.”
7:20 p.m. ET: Jake and… It’s hours away from CNN After Dark, but already we have a moment of studio laughter as Wolf Blitzer completely blanked on the name of Dana Bash.
“Let’s go to Jake and…and…” Blitzer said, looking directly at Bash, who offered “Dana.” Jake Tapper said “Dana Bash. You’ve only known her 20 years.”
"Let's go to Jake and.. and.." pic.twitter.com/hIKr89jQ5u
— Mark Joyella (@standupkid) March 2, 2016
7:40 p.m. ET: Bernie Speaks The Democratic winner in Vermont gave the first of the night’s victory speeches, speaking to a rally in Essex Junction, Vermont. Not everyone stuck with Bernie, however. CNN and MSNBC took the full address live, as did CBSN. Fox News, Fox Business and Al Jazeera America moved on to other election coverage.
8:00 p.m. ET: Projections, Part 2 The networks have all broken in with projections in the next round of Super Tuesday states, with Trump winning a total of four states so far: Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts and Tennessee. Clinton is projected the winner in four states as well: Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Virginia.
“It’s going to be a great night for her but it is by no means locked up,” said Nancy Cordes on CBSN.
8:30 p.m. ET: Hillary Takes Arkansas Clinton is projected the winner in Arkansas, while, again, the GOP race is too close to call. The broadcast networks will join the wall-to-wall coverage at 10 p.m.:
Less than 90 mins to the start of NBC News' Super Tuesday special. Already a fascinating night. See u then pic.twitter.com/kaJ3OZceVl
— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) March 2, 2016
There have been over 1 million tweets about #SuperTuesday sent so far today, per @twitter pic.twitter.com/s2YiEkqWK7
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 2, 2016
8:49 p.m. Virginia to Trump Fox News, CNN, MSNBC all call Virginia for Donald Trump, edging out a strong challenge from Marco Rubio.
8:52 p.m. ET: Clinton Speaks in Miami Before Clinton took the stage in Miami, CBS News’ Bob Schieffer put the race in perspective on CBSN. “Well, I’ll tell you, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are rolling to big victories.”
8:57 p.m. ET: An Early Call Just before 9 p.m. ET–and technically, before the polls actually closed, usually something networks won’t do–CBS News made the call in Texas, for Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton.
BREAKING: CBS News projects @TedCruz and @HillaryClinton win TX primaries: https://t.co/NsEIZa49Zz #SuperTuesday
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 2, 2016
9:30 p.m. ET: Scoop On Fox News, Bret Baier, citing sources, reports Florida Governor Rick Scott will endorse Donald Trump.
A short time later, some are questioning the report–or perhaps only the timing:
Two sources had earlier said Scott would endorse Trump. Still could happen but apparently not tonight.
— Brit Hume (@brithume) March 2, 2016
10:00 p.m. ET: Network Specials As Donald Trump’s remarks–and he is taking questions from reporters–continue, the broadcast networks join with live special reports.
At Fusion, Jorge Ramos has a casual yet cool look for Super Tuesday:
On CBS, Charlie Rose interviewed Sen. Rubio, who vowed his campaign is not over, and the nomination contest has not been decided. “Donald Trump will not win Florida. Donald Trump will not be the Republican nominee. He’s a con artist.”
10:35 p.m. ET: Meanwhile, at Yahoo Former CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, now global news anchor at Yahoo, has this unusual guest on Super Tuesday:
10:45 p.m. ET: Heated Exchange on CNN Following the live remarks by Ted Cruz, CNN analysts Jeffrey Lord and Van Jones clashed:
11:35 p.m. ET: On to Late Night We’re moving into the late night portion of the festivities, with only a handful of states still undecided. There’s no voting in New York, but Sanders supporters showed up in force in Times Square to make some noise outside ABC’s studios:
.@SenSanders supporters gather outside @ABC News' Election HQ in Times Square #SuperTuesday pic.twitter.com/SX1EpvOQb6
— ABCNews PR (@ABCNewsPR) March 2, 2016