The Cook Political Report's Guide to Election Night

Although most news broadcasts begin their election night coverage in the early evening of November 8, many of the most competitive contests for the House and Senate are in states west of the Mississippi. On the House side, 25 percent of the Toss Up contests are in western states. It’s hard to believe we’ll know the balance of power in the Senate without having results from Nevada and Arizona. And, for the gubernatorial contests, all but one of the most competitive races are in western/northwestern states.

However, there are enough competitive contests in the eastern and central time zones that can help give us a pretty good sense of whether this is a red wave or more of a red ripple type of election.

With so much attention given to the so-called “election denier’ group of candidates, expect to see a tremendous amount of coverage about Election Day security, access and safety. But, as my colleague Dave Wasserman writes, the ‘blue” and “red” mirages that are a product of our newly partisan and politicized voter behaviors (Democrats vote