2026 NAPS Election Night Live Blog

 

 

 

 

The results of the 2026 midterm election will help determine the future of the Postal Service and the benefits of its employees. So, the USPS' premier management association, the National Association of Postal Supervisors (NAPS), is providing real-time non-partisan election analysis through postal eyes. NAPS will be monitoring key congressional races, using a variety of election tools. Be part of the election-night experience. Coverage begins at 7:15 PM EST tonight.. Refresh this page periodically to achieve the "live-blog" experience. 

Your NAPS Legislative-Political Team, 
Jimmy Warden, Executive Vice President
Bob Levi, Director of Legislative and Political Affairs

1:15 AM ET

I will be ending the blog at this point. Michigan, Alaska, Nebraska and Montana are still on the board. And a meaningful number of House races still need to be called. Nevertheless, let's just say there was Democratic Tsunami. The election will have significant postal consequences, namely in the area of enhanced congressional oversight of the agency and greater attention to postal legislation. Good night all. 

1:05 AM ET

 In IN-5, Rep. Victoria Spartz (R) is projected to lose to Dem JD Ford.

12:53 AM EST

In WI-3, Rep. Derrick van Orden (R) is projected to lose to Dem Rebecca Cooke. 

12:40 AM EST     

In PA-1, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R) is projected to lose to Dem Bob Harvie. In MO-2, Rep, Ann Wagner (R) is projected to lose to Dem Fred Wellman. In TX-15, Rep. Monica del Cruz (R) is projected to lose to Dem Bobby Pulido. 

12:35 AM EST

In LA, Rep. Julia Letow (R) is projected to win Senate seat. 

12:30 AM EST

In OH-7, Rep. Max Miller (R) lost to Dem Brian Poindexter. In OH-10, with 96% of the vote counted, Rep. Mike Turner trails Dem Kristina Knickerbocker. 

12:15 AM EST

In Maine, Sen. Susan Collins (R) conceded to Dem Troy Jackson.  

12:10 AM EST

In Minnesota, Dem Peggy Flanagan is projected to win the Senate seat.

In IA-3, Dem Sarah Trone Garriott is projected to defeat Rep. Zach Nunn (R), and in IA-1, Dem Christina Bohannan is projected to defeat Rep. Miller-Meeks (R). 

12:00 AM EST

In another flip. CA-1, Rep. James Gallagher (R) lost to Dem Mike McGuire. 

11:45 PM EST

In NC-9, with 99% of the vote counted, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Richards Hudson trails his Dem opponent by 6,000 votes. 

11:30 PM EST

In Iowa, Dem Josh Turek is projected to defeat Sen. Ashley Hinson (R). It is now projected that the Democrats will have a majority in both the House and the Senate. This means that Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) will chair the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) will chair the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. 

11:15 PM EST

Maine is a slow counting state. With 40% of the vote counted, Sen. Collins (R-ME) leads the Dem by 2,800 votes.

In Kansas, Dem Adam Hamilton is projected to defeat Sen. Roger Marshall (R). This means that if the Dems hold either Michigan or Minnesota, they will secure the Senate majority. 

11:00 PM EST

In Ohio, Dem Sherrod Brown is projected to defeat Sen. Jon Husted (R).   

10:53 PM EST     

In Texas, Dem James Talarico is projected to defeat GOP Ken Paxton. With 56% of the vote in, Rep. Pete Sessions (R) trails the Dem by 20,000 votes.

10:52 PM EST

Two other flips. In VA-2, Dem Elaine Luria is projected to defeat Rep. Jen Kiggans (R) and in PA-10, Dem Janelle Stelson is projected to defeat Rep. Scott Perry (R). With 97% of the votes counted, Rep. Rob Wittman (R) is trailing the Dem by 7,800 votes.

10:45 PM EST

Three seats in OH bear watching, with slightly less than 50% of the vote counted in OH-9, Rep. Marcy Kaptur trails the Republican by over 17,000 votes. In addition, in OH-10, with 96% of the vote counted, Rep. Mike Turner (R) trails the Dem by 6,800 votes. And, in OH-15, with 95% of the votes counted Rep. Mike Carey (R) trails Dem by 18,000 votes. 

10:30 PM EST

In NC-5, with 99% of vote counted, Rep. Foxx (R) leads her Dem opponent by 5,200 votes.  

10:15 PM EST

Two other flips. in KY-6, a toss-up seat, the Dem Zach Dembo wins an open seat vacated by a Republican. In PA-7, Dem Bob Brooks is projected to defeat Rep. Ryan McKenzie (R).

The news media are now projecting the Democrats will secure the House majority. 

10:00 PM EST

In SC, Dem Annie Andrews projected to defeat Sen. Darlene Graham (R). So far, the Dems picked up 2 of the 4 seats they need to win Senate majority.  

9:50 PM EST

3 House flips.  In NJ-7 Dem Rebecca Bennett is projected to defeat Rep. Tom Kean (R). In PA-8, Dem Paige Cognetti is projected to defeat Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R). In CO-4, Dem Manny Rutinel is projected to defeat Rep. Gabe Evans (R). 

9:45 PM EST

Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) was elected to the Senate. He was favored. In Kansas, with 70% of vote counted Dem Adam Hamilton leading Sen. Roger Marshal by 121,400 votes. In Ohio, with 62% counted, Dem Sherrod Brown leads Sen. Ed Husted (R) by 66,000 votes. 

9:30 PM EST

With 81% of the vote counted, in SC, Dem. Annie Andrews is leading Sen. Darlene Graham (R)  by about 70,000 votes. In VA-1, Wittman (R) has pulled ahead of the Dem by about 4,000 votes with 83% of the vote counted. In VA-2, Dem Elaine Luria leads Rep. Jen Kiggens (R) by 17,000 votes with 64% vote counted. 

9:15 PM EST

In NC, Rep. Don Davis (D) is leading the GOP candidate by about 7,000 votes with 67% of the votes counted. This seat is considered a toss-up. In NC-11, Dem Jamie Ager was declared the winner. This a flip. 

Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky was projected to win the Senate seat. He was favored.  

9:00 PM EST

As mentioned in the 8:00 post, one of the key races that is being watched is KY-6. With 62% of the vote in, the Dem. is leading by over 13,000 votes. It's still way too earlier, but there might be a shocker in North Carolina. House Rules Committee Chair and House Oversight and Reform member Virginia Foxx (R) is trailing the Democrat by 20,000 votes, with 60% of the vote counted. 

Senators John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Jack Reed (D-RI), Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) and Harriet Hageman (R-WY) won re-election. In all five races, the incumbents were favored.  

8:45 PM EST

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) won re-election. Dem. Juliana Stratton (IL) won election to the Senate. Both were considered safe Democratic seats.

8:30 PM EST

In Florida, Sen. Ashley Moody (FL), a member of the Senate Homeland and Government Affairs Committee, was declared the winner. It was closer than expected (50.7% to 48.2%) with 98% of the votes counted. 

8:25 PM EST 

In NH, Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) has won election to the Senate. Pappas is a member of the Congressional Postal Caucus and, in North Carolina, Democrat Roy Cooper has been declared the winner. This is a flip (i.e., GOP to Dem). 

8:15 PM EST

It's important note that we are not reporting on all races, just the ones that can determine the House or Senate majorities. 

FL-22 with more than 95% in, the Dem leads 12,500 votes. FL-25 has been called for the Democrat (Rep. Moskowitz) and so has FL-14 (Castor). FL-14 was considered a toss-up. 

We're watching VA-1 which toss-up. With almost 40% of the votes counted the Democrat, Shannon Taylor is leading GOP incumbent Rob Wittman. In VA-2, with about 30% in, the GOP incumbent leads the Democrat by 1.9%

8.00 PM EST

In Indiana, with 56% of the vote reporting, IN-5 which is considered Lean Republican, the Democrat is leading by 21,000 votes. This district, along with KY-6, is worth watching. There's not enough votes in to speculate. 

7:45 PM EST

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) has been projected to be re-elected to his Senate seat.Sen. Ossoff is a former member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. We are keeping an eye on a few gerrymandered FL House districts. FL-14 and FL-22 are considered toss-ups. With 91% in FL-14, Democrat leads by 16,000 votes, and with 86% in FL-22, Democrat is leading by 12,300 votes.

7:30 PM EST

Approximately 55 million Americans cast their ballot prior to Election Day. As members of the postal community, we are interested in the number of Americans who voted by mail. For the 2026 general election, about 26.6 million of these million were mailed and 28.4 million were cast in person. Of the states that publish party affiliation, 40% of the early votes were cast by registered Democratic voters and 33% were cast by registered Republicans. The number of mail ballots cast in 2026 is 7.3 million less (20.4% less) than cast in 2022, the last mid-term election. The states with the highest number of 2026 mailed ballots are Texas (6.9M), California (6.7M), Florida (5.5M), North Carolina (2.8M), Georgia (2.5M) and Washington (2.1M). Inasmuch as mailed ballots and early in person votes are usually tallied prior to Election Day ballots and historically lean Democratic, one should get overly excited one way or the other based on early returns.

7:18 PM EST 

Today’s congressional election returns could have significant consequences for the Postal Service, its 640,000-plus employees, postal supervisors, managers, and postmasters. The election will determine who controls the House and Senate, who leads the congressional committees overseeing USPS, and what direction Congress takes on postal reform, funding and the future of the mail.

 The central issue is that the election could determine whether Congress pursues a policy to stabilize and strengthen the Postal Service or pushes for significant structural and operational changes.

NAPS recognizes that control of Congress will shape postal policy. As we watch the returns there are three principal possibilities, each with postal implications:

1. If Democrats assume control of both the House and the Senate, we could anticipate expanded congressional oversight of postal management, workforce issues, service standards, the impact of network restructuring and vote-by-mail. We would expect the committees with jurisdiction over the Postal Service to be chaired by Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH).

2. If Republicans retain control of both chambers, we could anticipate support for the administration's postal policy priorities, including operational restructuring, cost reductions, and changes to the Postal Service's business model. We would expect Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to continue as the Senate committee chair, but future the House committee chair is unknown. 

3. If there is a divided Congress, we could anticipate difficult legislative negotiations, increased oversight hearings, and potentially slower progress on comprehensive postal reform that would address the agency’s needs. The chairs would be determined based on the majority parties of the respective houses of Congress.