Mark Warner Wins a Fourth Senate Term in Virginia as First Midterm Results Land

The Associated Press called the Virginia Senate race for Democratic Senator Mark Warner at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, November 3, as polls closed in the state. It was the first Senate call of the 2026 midterm election night. Warner wins a fourth six year term, defeating Republican challenger Bert Mizusawa. CBS News also projected Warner as the winner.

The call came at the moment voting ended in Virginia, and it drew cheers at Warner's election night event at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Alexandria. His campaign said he was expected to speak at about 8:15 p.m. Eastern Time. "Thank you, Virginia! I'm honored and grateful to continue serving as your United States Senator," Warner's headquarters wrote in a post on X shortly after the call, according to The Times.

Warner, 71, was first elected to the Senate in 2008 and won again in 2014 and 2020. He served as Virginia's governor from 2002 to 2006 and sits in the Senate alongside fellow Democrat Tim Kaine. Mizusawa is a retired United States Army major general whose service spanned 41 years and included four combat tours. Virginia was rated a safe Democratic seat, and Republicans have not won a Senate race in the state since 2002.

The first wave of closings

Virginia was one of six states where polls had fully closed by 7 p.m. Eastern Time, the first full wave of the night. The others were Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Vermont. The first polls of the night had closed an hour earlier, at 6 p.m. Eastern Time, in parts of Indiana and Kentucky.

In Kentucky, the Associated Press and NBC called two House races soon after polls closed. Democratic Representative Morgan McGarvey kept his seat in the 3rd District, and Republican Representative Hal Rogers won in the 5th District. Rogers, the longest serving current member of the House, returns for a 24th term.

Two battleground Senate races in the first wave had no call. In Georgia, early returns put Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff ahead of Republican Representative Mike Collins, but the race stayed uncalled. In South Carolina, the Senate race between Republican Darline Graham and Democrat Annie Andrews was rated a toss up and also stayed uncalled.

Control of Congress is still open

The next wave closed at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia, with a larger wave to follow at 8 p.m. All 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships are on the ballot. Republicans hold the Senate 53 to 47, and Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats and three House seats to take both chambers.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters on Tuesday night that Democrats "are on the verge" of taking back control of the House, but added that they "take nothing for granted." Which party controls Congress may not be known on election night. Close races can take days to call as mail ballots are counted, and officials stress that election night totals are unofficial until states certify them.