We’re less than a week away until Election Day 2018 and the sheer number of races in play can be overwhelming.
Our election night results site is now live. There are a lot of great options and information for you to use, so take some time prior to Tuesday to familiarize yourself with all the features. You can have complete access just by signing up for a free account right now.
Now that you know where you’ll be following the results, you may want to think about what to watch for and when.
Decision Desk HQ Director Brandon Finnigan has broken down the night into what to watch for in ninety minute increments.
Everything kicks off right at 6pm eastern….
6:00:00 PM- POLLS CLOSED IN MOST OF INDIANA, KENTUCKY
Races to eyeball: IN-SEN, KY-06, IN-02
Most of Indiana closes at 6pm, and there is plenty to eyeball for clues: Marion County will take a while to release its first count (probably looking at 645pm-7pm) but should be strongly pro-Donnelly. A weaker margin there means a good night for Braun.
Before we see Indianapolis report, though, we should be seeing returns in Clark, Hamilton, St Joseph and Marshall. Senator Joe Donnelly carried Clark and St Joseph and kept his margins of loss smaller in the other two. If he’s repeating that performance, he’s on his way to re-election, but if each county slides to the right a la Young-Bayh in 2016, the race could be over before CST-time zone counties like Vanderburgh and Laporte get to weigh in.
While you’re watching Indiana, pay attention to St Joseph and Marshall for IN-02, Jackie Walorski’s district. She’s in a likely Republican seat that has seen considerable spending by the Democrat, Mel Hall. If the race is running close in the first hour, it’s a bad sign nationally for the GOP.
Jump across the Ohio into Kentucky, and you find one major race: KY-06, currently held by Republican Representative Andy Barr. Barr is in a tossup race against Amy McGrath. The initial votes we will receive will come from Democratic leaning Fayette County. Expect McGrath, then, to have an early lead. If she doesn’t, with that reporting (and quickly), Her odds of an upset win through rural pockets are vanishingly small. If she has a ten-point lead or greater, she may be able to blunt Republican margins in the smaller areas.
We’ll have part two tomorrow covering 7:30pm eastern to 9pm eastern when things really start to heat up.