NewsNation to partner with Decision Desk HQ for network’s first election night coverage

Tuesday night will be a major moment for NewsNation, a cable news channel launched in 2021 that earlier this year hosted a Republican primary debate and has been beefing up its political coverage and news programming in the run-up to the 2024 election.  

The cable channel, which has hired hosts such as Chris Cuomo and Elizabeth Vargas to its roster, plans to provide special hours-long coverage of election night as results come in.  

But unlike other broadcasters, NewsNation will not use an internal election forecasting unit, instead partnering with Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) to provide real-time election results, voting analysis, projections and race calls. 

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, the nation’s largest local news broadcaster that also owns The Hill, which will also be partnering with DDHQ on its election coverage.  

Anchoring NewsNation’s coverage on Tuesday will be Cuomo, who with Vargas will lead the network’s breaking news team starting at 6 p.m. along with prime-time host Leland Vittert.  

NewsNation’s coverage of election night from Washington, D.C., will be led by Chris Stirewalt, a former top political editor at Fox News who today hosts “The Hill Sunday” on NewsNation and is a leading political analyst for the channel.  

“DDHQ is a great match for NewsNation — a disruptor that came from the ground up to change the way the national industry worked,” Stirewalt told The Hill this week. “The fact that they were the first major forecasting organization to call the 2020 presidency should give us all an idea about what we should be able to expect this year.” 

This election night will be a different experience for Stirewalt, who was part of the team at Fox that was responsible for making race calls during major elections.  

“It is personally frustrating not to be part of a decision desk team,” he said. “But this is not about me. The independence and transparency that we get from leveling with viewers and helping them see how the sausage is made on [Election Day] will go a long way in establishing trust with our viewers. And if I can be part of providing context and explanation or what is going on and why, then I can be of service.” 

NewsNation and Decision Desk HQ also will offer viewers a new visual tool it is calling “Election Pulse,” providing real-time updates on the projected outcome of the presidential race nationally and in key states.  

Viewers will see a “probability needle” move throughout the night based on voting results, patterns and remaining uncounted ballots, the network said.  

Both former President Trump's and Vice President Harris's campaigns have indicated they expect results to roll in overnight Tuesday and potentially into the later portion of the week. 

NewsNation’s election night coverage will be simulcast on the CW, another cable channel Nexstar acquired in 2022.  

The network recently hosted a town hall with Sen. JD Vance (Ohio), the GOP vice presidential nominee, an event during which Trump called in and Vance took questions on abortion, immigration and the economy.