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2026 Midterms: Did Search Interest Call the Winners?
Across the 26 Senate and governor races WowBaba tracked, we checked whether the candidate searched more on Google in the final week actually won.
17 of 23 called racesRaces with a declared winner · 74% · Preliminary results as of the evening of Nov 4, 2026 (ET)
Read this first
This was a big year for Democrats. Picking the Democrat every time would have gone 20 for 23, regardless of search data. So search share wasn't a better forecast. Searches measure attention, not support: controversial or already-famous candidates get searched a lot either way.
Where it missed
- Kentucky Senate: Charles Booker 56.8% → Andy Barr
- Nebraska Senate: Dan Osborn 54.0% → Pete Ricketts
- Ohio (special) Senate: Jon Husted 62.3% → Sherrod Brown
- Colorado Governor: Victor Marx 57.8% → Phil Weiser
- Michigan Governor: John James 56.9% → Jocelyn Benson
- Ohio Governor: Vivek Ramaswamy 52.3% → Amy Acton
Senate
Not called
Mary PeltolaD · 36.2%Dan SullivanR · 63.8%
Called it
Jon OssoffD · 85.8%Mike CollinsR · 14.2%
Called it
Joshua TurekD · 55.0%Ashley HinsonR · 45.0%
Called it
Adam HamiltonD · 54.9%Roger MarshallR · 45.1%
Missed
Charles BookerD · 56.8%Andy BarrR · 43.2%
Excluded
Troy JacksonD · 0.0%Susan CollinsR · 100.0%
Called it
Ed MarkeyD · 69.0%John DeatonR · 31.0%
Called it
Abdul El-SayedD · 76.2%Mike RogersR · 23.8%
Missed
Dan OsbornI · 54.0%Pete RickettsR · 46.0%
Called it
Chris PappasD · 59.7%John E. SununuR · 40.3%
Called it
Roy CooperD · 77.9%Michael WhatleyR · 22.1%
Missed
Sherrod BrownD · 37.7%Jon HustedR · 62.3%
Called it
James TalaricoD · 66.2%Ken PaxtonR · 33.8%
Governor
Called it
Doug JonesD · 42.4%Tommy TubervilleR · 57.6%
Called it
Katie HobbsD · 59.1%Andy BiggsR · 40.9%
Called it
Xavier BecerraD · 51.5%Steve HiltonR · 48.5%
Missed
Phil WeiserD · 42.2%Victor MarxR · 57.8%
Called it
Keisha Lance BottomsD · 58.2%Rick JacksonR · 41.8%
Called it
Rob SandD · 71.4%Zach LahnR · 28.6%
Not called
Cindy HolscherD · 49.5%Ty MastersonR · 50.5%
Called it
Wes MooreD · 69.2%Daniel L. CoxR · 30.8%
Missed
Jocelyn BensonD · 43.1%John JamesR · 56.9%
Called it
Aaron FordD · 57.9%Joe LombardoR · 42.1%
Called it
Kathy HochulD · 58.5%Bruce BlakemanR · 41.5%
Missed
Amy ActonD · 47.7%Vivek RamaswamyR · 52.3%
Called it
David CrowleyD · 56.2%Tom TiffanyR · 43.8%
Maine Senate: excluded because one candidate's searches were collected as zero, a data error (the winner was Troy Jackson).
How we compared
- Search share is the last published result for each race's matchup: US-wide Google Trends interest over the 7 days before Election Day (Nov 3), scaled so the two candidates add up to 100%.
- It's national search, not state-level, so it includes interest from people outside the state.
- Winners are preliminary results from the sources below. Uncalled races will be updated once decided.
Sources
Preliminary results as of the evening of Nov 4, 2026 (ET)