How and why the AP declares winners on election night Politics Nov 3, 2025 2:19 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Will Zohran Mamdani be elected New York City mayor? Who will be the next governor of New Jersey? Will California adopt a new congressional map?

Those are among the questions The Associated Press will answer when the news organization tabulates votes and declares winners in hundreds of races that are on ballots nationwide Tuesday.

It’s a role the AP has filled for nearly 180 years, since shortly after its founding.

Determining a winner involves a careful and thorough analysis of the latest available vote tallies and a variety of other election data. The ultimate goal is to answer this question: Is there any circumstance in which the trailing candidate can catch up to the candidate

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