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When Polls Close and the Races That Decide Congress

Published November 2, 2026 at 10:37 am | By HERE City National Desk, Staff Reporter

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Voters settle control of the House and Senate on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and the first battleground results should start arriving once polls shut at 7 p.m. Eastern in Georgia and most of Florida. Counting in the closest contests could run for days.

Georgia opens the night with two statewide fights. Republican Rep. Mike Collins is trying to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, and Republican businessman Rick Jackson faces former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, for the open governor’s office. State law now requires counties to post results within an hour after voting ends.

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South Carolina, also closing at 7, has a Senate race between appointed Republican Sen. Darline Graham and Democrat Annie Andrews. In Florida, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly are vying to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis, while Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, who was appointed to the seat, must win a special election against Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon. The Panhandle stays open until 8 p.m. Eastern.

At 7:30 p.m., North Carolina and Ohio close. The open North Carolina Senate seat is a contest between Roy Cooper, the Democrat who served two terms as governor, and Michael Whatley, who once led the Republican National Committee. Ohio has former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown trying to unseat appointed Republican Sen. Jon Husted, and an open governor’s race between Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton.

Most of Texas and Michigan close at 8 p.m. Eastern, with western pockets an hour later. In Texas, Ken Paxton, the Republican state attorney general, takes on Democratic lawmaker James Talarico for the seat John Cornyn is leaving. Greg Abbott, the Republican governor, wants a fourth term, and Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa is challenging him. To fill the seat of retiring Sen. Gary Peters, Michigan voters pick between El-Sayed, the Democrat, and Rogers, a Republican who served in the House, and between Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Rep. John James for governor.

Maine’s Republican Sen. Susan Collins is up against former state Senate President Troy Jackson. Later in the evening, attention turns to Iowa, where Rep. Ashley Hinson and state Rep. Josh Turek seek the seat Joni Ernst is giving up, and to Wisconsin, Kansas, Arizona and Nevada, where Gov. Joe Lombardo faces Attorney General Aaron Ford.

Check your state election office for your own polling place hours; many close earlier than the latest statewide time.

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Section: More Myrtle Beach SC politics news

Filed under: Myrtle Beach SC Politics News

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HERE is a staff reporter for HERE Myrtle Beach covering local news, community stories, and developments across Horry County. HERE is committed to accurate, community-first journalism.

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