NPR Relies on AP to Call 2026 House, Senate and Governor Races

NPR will use the Associated Press to call winners in the 2026 election, covering 435 House races, 35 Senate races, 36 gubernatorial contests, ballot measures and thousands of state legislative seats. The partnership between the two organizations has run for many years.

AP race callers work with analysts who focus on statewide contests such as U.S. Senate and governor, along with elections for the U.S. House of Representatives. Decision editors on AP's Decision Team sign off on every race call for president, U.S. Senate and governor, as well as races of significance for U.S. House.

The team studies incoming vote county by county. Where the information is available, they also look at the vote by type of ballot: cast in person at polling places, or in advance by mail or in person. They stay in contact with AP's vote count team about what has been counted and how many ballots may remain.

AP staff then estimate the likelihood of a winner based on where outstanding ballots come from, the makeup of those communities and how individuals chose to vote. The Associated Press has called races since 1848.

AP does not make projections or name apparent or likely winners. If race callers cannot definitively say a candidate has won, they do not engage in speculation. AP did not call the closely contested race in 2000 between George W. Bush and Al Gore, standing behind its assessment that the margin in Florida made it too close to say who won. AP calls a race when the trailing candidates no longer have a path to victory.

NPR will not make race calls based on a candidate's declaration of victory or a concession speech. Once AP calls a race, NPR alerts broadcast and digital audiences on air and online, and provides the information to hundreds of member stations. AP data also populates NPR election results pages. NPR will cover major race calls and provide ongoing coverage on air and online of the 2026 election.