The 2026 US Midterms will officially kick off at 5am AEDT on Wednesday, with all free-to-air Australian networks set to offer live coverage.
With correspondents stationed in Washington DC and battleground states, the networks are clearing room across breakfast television, news bulletins, election specials, streaming platforms and live blogs. There will be maps. There will be panels. There will be ample opportunity to learn which Pennsylvania county everyone is suddenly very worried about.
Nine’s Today and Seven’s Sunrise kick off at 5am, followed by the ABC News Channel’s election special at 10am and PBS’s coverage on SBS On Demand from 11am AEDT. Here’s how each network is covering the count.
Nine
Washington Correspondent Lauren Tomasi will lead 9News’ coverage from Washington DC, reporting live throughout Wednesday as results come in. Former Clinton White House staffer Laura Schwartz will join her to provide commentary and analysis on what the results could mean for the Trump administration.
US Correspondent Reid Butler will report live from Texas on key races and voter reaction. US Correspondent Lily Greer will explain how the midterms work and what is at stake. In Australia, Political Editor Charles Croucher will examine what the outcome could mean for Australia’s relationship with the United States, and Finance Editor Chris Kohler will analyse the potential impact on global financial markets and the Australian economy.
Nine’s coverage begins at 5am AEDT on Today, and Today Extra will continue with updates as polls begin to close. 9News bulletins will carry coverage throughout the day, including live crosses during 9News Morning, a dedicated election update at midday, and further reporting in the 4pm and 6pm bulletins.
Online, Tomasi presents an explainer on why the midterms matter. Butler’s docu-series Trump’s America looks at the issues driving voters across the country. Rolling coverage will run across 9Now, nine.com.au, the 9News Australia YouTube channel and 9News social platforms. The nine.com.au live blog and app will carry interactive state-by-state results and livestreams of the linear specials.
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At Nine Publishing, correspondent Michael Koziol will report from Washington DC for the metro mastheads. The world desk will run a live blog from 6am Tuesday, then from midnight on Wednesday and Thursday. Commentators Peter Hartcher, Jacqueline Maley and Nick O’Malley will contribute to the blog, and Koziol will provide analysis via video and podcasts. The Australian Financial Review will run a results live blog, carry analysis from Washington correspondent Jessica Gardner, and report on the reaction in local and global markets.
Seven
Mylee Hogan will report live from Washington DC from 5am, appearing across Sunrise, Noon News, daytime updates and the 4pm and 6pm bulletins. In the lead-up, Hogan travelled through several tight states, including Pennsylvania and Texas. Rob Scott will cover the results from Seven’s Los Angeles bureau.
Network 10
Katherine Firkin has reported from key battleground states for the past two weeks. She will appear live across 10 News Lunchtime, 10 News at 5pm and 10’s Late News, while 10’s studio team analyses the numbers as results come in.
ABC
Special live coverage on the ABC News Channel starts at 10am on Wednesday. The ABC News Channel, the ABC’s Elections team and Planet America are co-producing it. John Barron, Lorna Dunkley and Jade Macmillan will host, with Chas Licciardello and Sara James contributing. Chief Elections and Data Analyst Casey Briggs will present results at the big board and touch screen. The broadcast will cross to ABC correspondents across the US and include special guests.
Sarah Ferguson is hosting 7.30 live from Washington, DC, from Monday to Wednesday this week. The ABC News website and app will carry a daily news briefing and a live blog that will take audience questions. If You’re Listening will run special livestreams on its new YouTube channel.
On ABC TV and ABC iview, the Four Corners episode “Endgame”, reported by Mark Willacy, examines the election. Coverage will also run across ABC NewsRadio, the ABC’s podcasts and social and third-party platforms. Last week the ABC’s Washington DC team, led by Americas Editor John Lyons, took part in a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session.
SBS
SBS On Demand will exclusively livestream PBS’s election coverage from 11am AEDT on Wednesday. Coverage starts with the PBS NewsHour Pre-election Special, followed by the PBS News US Midterms Election Special from noon to 3.30pm AEDT. The special may run longer. The regular PBS NewsHour program will be available from 10am AEDT.
The SBS main channel will broadcast the PBS special live from 1pm to 2pm in all Australian time zones except Western Australia, where the program’s last hour will air at 1pm AWST. SBS2 will repeat the final hour from 4.50pm AEDT. PBS co-anchors Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett will lead the PBS News team’s results and analysis.
SBS World News has been running special reports in the lead-up to the vote. Chief International Correspondent Ben Lewis is in the US this week reporting on the results for SBS World News at 6.30pm. The SBS News website has published an explainer on where the midterms will be won and lost. On Wednesday it will run a live blog across the site and app with results and reaction from the US, Australia and around the world.
From Mediaweek