Election night: polls close at 6 p.m. ET, and the Senate seats that matter report from 7 p.m.

No votes have been counted yet. At 5:45 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the first polls in the 2026 midterms, in the Eastern-time parts of Indiana and Kentucky, are about 15 minutes from closing. This is the schedule for the night, the Senate races that report early, and what markets will be reading. We will publish an "Update:" once results come in, and every race call will be attributed to the outlet that made it, with the time.

When polls close, in Eastern time

According to 270toWin\'s poll-closing table, built from The Green Papers and Daily Kos, the table lists each state at its latest closing time, since that is the earliest a statewide winner can be projected. Some polling places close earlier.

Those Senate counts add up to the 35 seats on the ballot. The Green Papers notes that the media treats Alaska as callable after 8 p.m. Alaska time. CNBC\'s Election Day coverage likewise puts the last poll closing at 1 a.m. ET.

The races that report early

The most useful fact in the table is how few Senate seats report before 8 p.m.: seven. Which of them are competitive? CBS News\' Senate guide, last updated April 14 and citing Cook Political Report ratings at that time, lists these as the battlegrounds. Its ratings are months old, so treat them as a map of where to look, not a forecast.

• Georgia (7 p.m.): Sen. Jon Ossoff\'s seat, rated Lean Democratic in April.
• North Carolina (7:30 p.m.) and Ohio (7:30 p.m.): an open seat after Thom Tillis\'s retirement (Lean Democratic in April) and Sen. John Husted against former Sen. Sherrod Brown (Toss-up).
• Maine, New Hampshire, Michigan, Texas (8 p.m. or later): Maine and Michigan were Toss-ups, New Hampshire Lean Democratic and Texas Likely Republican.
• Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota (9 p.m.): rated Likely Republican, Likely Republican and Likely Democratic.
• Alaska (midnight ET): Sen. Dan Sullivan, Lean Republican in April, and the last Senate race to be callable.

Republicans hold 53 seats, so Democrats need a net gain of four for control, per the same CBS guide. Close races in Georgia, North Carolina and Ohio could signal the direction of the night before the 8 p.m. wave.

What markets are watching

CNBC reported that polls point to a Democratic House and a toss-up Senate, and that prediction markets lean further toward Democrats. It quoted JPMorgan as seeing the S&P 500 down about 0.5% on Wednesday if Democrats win both chambers, and its traders seeing up to a 1% gain if Republicans hold both. Citigroup strategists called a Republican Senate with a Democratic House a possible tailwind into year-end. Our Election Day market close piece has the full scenario table.

The cleaner gauge for borrowers is the 10-year yield, which the Treasury\'s daily par yield curve put at 4.95% on Tuesday. It sets the pace for mortgage and many business-loan pricing, so a divided government that is seen as limiting new spending and one that is seen as adding it could push it in opposite directions. Nobody can say tonight which way. CNBC also reported that analysts see Texas Gov. Greg Abbott\'s race as a possible market mover: Wolfe Research\'s Tobin Marcus said a surprise loss there has the "potential to spook" the market in the short term.

Who it touches

• Data-center and AI suppliers: analysts told CNBC they fear data-center restrictions if Democrats gain.
• Hospitals and insurers: CNBC says investors are watching HCA, Tenet, UnitedHealth and Centene on possible Affordable Care Act subsidy and Medicaid changes.
• Card issuers and the shops that depend on card credit: Evercore ISI\'s Matthew Aks told CNBC Democrats may focus on affordability, including card rate caps.

What to watch at the open

Wall Street has no cash session until Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. ET, but index futures trade through the night and will move as seats are called. Alaska and several western contests may not be decided for hours or days, and a close Senate map could mean an unsettled picture at the open. The Justice Department\'s monitors and the court fights are covered in our Election Day report.

Sources: 270toWin and The Green Papers (poll closing times), CBS News (Senate race guide, April 14, 2026, Cook Political Report ratings), CNBC (market scenarios, Nov 3, 2026), U.S. Treasury, Yahoo Finance. No results had been reported when this was published. Politics coverage here is neutral and limited to the market angle. This is market information, not investment advice.