NPR will use Associated Press race calls for 2026 election results

AP will call races when trailing candidates have no path to victory

As ballots were counted on November 3, 2026, results were beginning to come in for 435 House races, 35 Senate races and 36 gubernatorial contests, along with ballot measures and thousands of state legislative seats. In an explanation by Megan Pratz, NPR said it would use Associated Press race calls to report the results and share those determinations with its broadcast and digital audiences. NPR and AP have partnered for many years to ensure that races are called accurately.

Once AP calls a race, NPR plans to alert broadcast audiences on air during special coverage and digital audiences through digital stories. NPR will also make the information available to hundreds of member stations and use AP data to populate its election-results pages, allowing viewers to follow results in real time.

The Associated Press says it has been calling races since 1848 and, nearly 180 years later, still uses election journalists, analysts and decision editors to evaluate returns and determine when an outcome is certain. Race callers collaborate with analysts focused on statewide races, including U.S. Senate and governor contests, and elections for the U.S. House. Decision editors on AP’s Decision Team sign off on every race call for president, U.S. Senate and governor, as well as House races of significance.

AP’s callers look beyond statewide totals, studying incoming votes county by county. In states where the information is available, they examine votes by ballot type: cast in person at polling places, or in advance by mail or in person. They also remain in constant contact with AP’s vote-count team, seeking the latest information about what has been counted and how many ballots may still be left to count.

The share of votes counted is not AP’s only threshold. Once AP has an idea of how many ballots are outstanding versus how many have been counted, staff can start calculating the likelihood of a candidate’s victory. AP says the calculation considers where outstanding ballots are coming from, the makeup of those communities and how individuals voted. The Associated Press explained in 2024 that ballot calculations, external factors and other data inform its decisions.

In almost all cases, races can be called well before 100% of the votes have been counted, and sometimes without all, or even most, of the vote counted. AP’s team of election journalists and analysts will call a race as soon as a clear winner can be determined. The organization describes that condition as the guiding principle behind its election race-calling process.

AP says its race calls are “not predictions and are not based on speculation.” They are declarations based on an analysis of vote results and other election data showing that one candidate has emerged as the winner and that no other candidate can overtake that candidate once all votes are counted. The calculation does not require votes from every precinct in every race; the practical question is whether a trailing candidate could feasibly win with outstanding votes in places not yet counted.

NPR said AP’s team waits until it has certainty to call a race, even if that means waiting a little longer, and that this is why its calls are trusted by hundreds of news organizations, including NPR. AP and, by extension, NPR will not project races.

NPR also said it will not make a race call just because a candidate declares victory or issues a concession speech or statement, and AP follows the same practice. AP states, “AP does not make projections or name apparent or likely winners.” If its callers cannot definitively say a candidate has won, they do not speculate.

AP says it calls a race only when it is fully confident the contest has been won, which it defines most simply as the moment trailing candidates no longer have a path to victory. As an example, AP did not call the closely contested 2000 race between George W. Bush and Al Gore, saying it stood behind its assessment that the margin in Florida made it too close to determine who had won.

When AP makes a race call, it backs the decision with transparent reporting into the research and analysis behind its determination. AP describes that explanatory journalism as a hallmark of AP’s own coverage of U.S. elections, alongside the race calls themselves.

Election night is likely only the start of the race calls and likely not their end, because counting voters can take a while. Race calls will be tabulated to determine the balance of power in the Senate and House of Representatives. NPR will cover all major race calls and provide ongoing coverage on air and online showing how the 2026 election shakes out.