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In what some have called the longest election ever, we have finally made it to Election Day in 2024. And as we wait for the 2024 Presidential Election results to come in, Barrett Media asked news/talk radio hosts — both locally and nationally — what they predicted would transpire.
We posed two questions to hosts: Will we know who the next President of the United States will be on Election Night? If not, when will we know?
These are the answers collected on when some of news/talk radio’s most prominent hosts believe we will know the 2024 presidential election results.
Yes, We Will Know The 2024 Presidential Election Results Tuesday Night
“I think so,” said Erick Erickson, host of the nationally syndicated The Erick Erickson Show. “I think that all of this preparing in advance of ‘It could take us two weeks,’ is trying to get people calm in a headspace of it’s not going to be stolen. It’s going to take a while. I think we’re going to have a pretty good sense on election night of who has won this race. At 5 PM, the third round of exit polling comes out. The first two rounds are terrible. You have to wait for the third round to come out to adjust them, and once that final round of exit polling comes out, around 5 or 6 PM you’re going to see a distinct mood change at either Fox News or MSNBC. And that’s going to tell us a lot.”
“My nerves are shot and my stomach is in knots, like most everyone else,” admitted Mike Gallagher, host of the nationally syndicated The Mike Gallagher Show. “I truly believe it won’t be close and we will have results relatively early, but only if Trump voters show up and actually vote. If they do so, Trump and the GOP are in for a great night. If not, it’s gonna be a long week/month/year/era. Pass the Tums, please.”
“I suspect Trump’s margin will be large enough and, more importantly, broad enough, to call it,” said The Michael Berry Show host Michael Berry. “Even if a state or two don’t report, if he leads in the other swing states, it’s over. It’s also sickening that bigger states like Texas and Florida can report quickly but swing states drag their feet. They either cheat or give the appearance of it.”
No, We Will Not Know the 2024 Presidential Election Results Tuesday Night
“You’re not going to find a winner on Tuesday,” said 93.1 WIBC afternoon co-host Jason Hammer. “I’d be shocked that way.”
“There’s no way you’re going to know Tuesday night,” added 93.1 WIBC midday co-host Rob Kendall. “Those swing states are going to be close enough that even if the public at large thinks it’s over, they’re going to say ‘Wait a second, we’ve got these outstanding ballots.’ Some of these things can take multiple days after the election is over. I say there is no way we’re gonna know for sure come election night.”
“No,” said KTAR News 92.3 afternoon co-host Bruce St. James. “Thursday at 12:16 PM.”
“I say no,” 1210 WPHT morning host Nick Kayal said. “My guess is Friday.”
“No way we know by election night! But it won’t be long,” sad WLS-AM 890 morning host Ray Stevens. “I’m guessing we know by Thursday. Huge early voting will make the difference. I just hope I can make bank on all those gold Trump watches I bought.”
“I can only say this: I hope it’s quick,” 95.5 WSB afternoon host Eric Von Haessler said. “I, myself, don’t have any skin in the game. I hope whoever wins wins in a landslide, like 53%-47%. This country is so broken, it could take up to two weeks. We could end up in that situation — which is the thing I don’t want to happen — where one state takes forever, and whoever wins that state is going to be the next President. I’ll split the difference and say we’ll know by the weekend, at the latest.”
“We absolutely will not know on Tuesday night. Or Wednesday. Or even Thursday,” said KDKA Newsradio afternoon host Colin Dunlap. “Maybe by the weekend. If that. But perhaps the only thing both sides can agree on is the side that initially ‘loses’ will file a lawsuit and this will be strung out for a little while. One thing that is mind-numbing to me is how the states still are in charge of elections when, in national offices, we are all voting for or against the same person. For example, you can live one mile away from someone (one person in Pennsylvania, one in Ohio) and have entirely different protocol. That just makes very little sense.”
Inconclusive
“The political science major in me says it will be clear by 11 PM Tuesday night,” said Lou Penrose, host of afternoons on 600 KOGO in San Diego. “The conspiracy theorist in me says that we will be in court in both Michigan and Pennsylvania for weeks.”
“No one knows when we will know. You can argue that’s part of the fun,” said Tony Katz, 93.1 WIBC morning host and nationally syndicated midday host of Tony Katz Today. “But I think most of us in talk radio see it as a serious issue with our nation. The more we let election results linger, the more we degrade faith in elections. And the last thing we need in America is less faith.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
