Reporters shut out of 2026 election night events

On Nov. 3, 2026, Americans turned out in record numbers to vote in midterm elections, culminating months of bruising campaigns that were diligently covered by journalists across the country.

As the election season entered its final days, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker identified reports of journalists being denied access to election-night events of both parties in multiple states or otherwise prevented from covering the events in full.

The Tracker does not typically log incidents where journalists are barred from campaign events under the denial of access category, since these events aren’t official government business. However, we’ve provided a roundup of them below, organized by date and location. This roundup will be updated as additional incidents are verified.

To learn more about how the Tracker documents and categorizes violations of press freedom, visit our FAQ page.

Nov. 2, 2026

Minnesota

• The Minnesota Reformer was informed that deputy editor Max Nesterak would not be given media credentials to cover a Republican election night watch party in Bloomington. While the outlet was not given a reason for the denial, Editor-in-Chief J. Patrick Coolican, in comments made to the Sahan Journal, attributed the move to being considered “an unfriendly outlet,” adding, “But I think if you look at our history over six years, we’ve written a lot of damaging stories about Democrats.”

New York

• Bloomberg News was notified by the campaign of Mike Lawler, a Republican running in New York’s 17th Congressional District, that the outlet would be banned from the campaign’s election night event in Pearl River the next day. The move came after Bloomberg reported on a lawsuit by Lawler canvassers alleging discrimination and unpaid wages, which the campaign accused the news organization of not giving it enough time to respond to. Lawler’s campaign manager said in a social media post, “Any requests for an exemption will be answered promptly, after the event, in keeping with Bloomberg’s own standards of professionalism.”

Nov. 3, 2026

California

• Reporter Io Yeh Gilman for Mission Local was initially denied entry to an election night event in San Francisco for Scott Wiener, running for California’s 11th Congressional District as a Democrat. The campaign “cited a perception of bias in coverage of Wiener’s position on Israel and Palestine,” according to the outlet. Approximately an hour later, the reporter was granted entry. “Mission Local‘s coverage of the congressional candidates this election season has been fair and consistent,” Joe Rivano Barros, Mission Local‘s executive editor, said. “We are glad Scott Wiener recognized his mistake and rectified it.”

Minnesota

• Katelyn Vue for the Sahan Journal was kicked out of a Republican election watch party in Bloomington, despite having been added to the attendance list the day before. A Republican staffer told Vue that one of the reasons the Sahan Journal was not allowed entry was its Oct. 27 article on an ad made by the Republican gubernatorial candidate. Vue was escorted out by security guards. “This was probably the most blatant example I’ve experienced of someone trying to stop me from doing my reporting work,” Vue later wrote.

Ohio

• Abby Vesoulis, a journalist for Mother Jones, reported in a social media post that she was told by the Ohio Democratic Party that she was confined to a gated press area at a Columbus election night party and was barred from talking to attendees. “It was the first I had heard of this ‘rule,’” she said.

New Jersey

• Tom Kean Jr., a Republican running for reelection in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, barred all press from attending an election night watch party held in Basking Ridge with the state’s Republican Party, according to Politico’s Joey Fox.

New York

• A reporter and cameraman for WWNY-TV were ordered to leave an Amsterdam election night party in an expletive-laden speech by Anthony Constantino, a Republican running in New York’s 21st Congressional District. Although journalist Garrett Domblewski was invited by the campaign to cover the event, he was singled out by the candidate, called a vulgarity, and then escorted out by at least five security guards, while the crowd chanted “Kick him out.” Domblewski and his cameraman continued to cover the event from the parking lot.
• The editor-in-chief of The Metropolitan Review, Ross Barkan, reported that members of the press were instructed to stay in a roped-off area at the back of the room of the New York Democratic Party election event in New York City. Journalists were not allowed to interview attendees at the midtown Manhattan gathering. “This was bad, and not the way it used to be,” he said in a social media post.
• Student journalist Carina Imbornone was booted from a Democratic Socialists of America watch party at a New York City bar. In an article about the incident, Imbornone described being told to leave the Queens venue and that the party was for campaign volunteers to celebrate. “There’s nothing illegal about what they did, of course,” she said, adding, “But it is notable that the DSA’s watch party press policy appears to be more restrictive and opaque than Donald Trump’s press policy at his 2024 watch party.”

Maine

• Noah Hurowitz of The Intercept reported in a social media post that the campaign of Troy Jackson, running as a Democrat for Maine’s Senate seat, roped off press to the back of the room at the campaign headquarters’ party in Portland. “Not cool,” he wrote.