Berlin – October 30, 2026 -- German news broadcaster WELT will run about 32 hours of live special programming around the US midterm elections on November 3 and 4, 2026. Editor-in-chief Helge Fuhst will anchor part of the coverage from a dedicated WELT set at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Fuhst broadcasts six hours of overnight talk rounds from the Capitol
From 00:00 to 06:00 German time, Fuhst will host talk rounds with US insiders, including US journalist Erik Kirschbaum and political scientist Gerlinde Groitl. WELT is also deploying its own correspondents in the United States.
Augmented-reality models will virtually open the Capitol on air
Analyst Marian Grunden will use AR models in the studio to "unfold" the US Capitol virtually. The models are meant to explain the balance of power in the Senate and House of Representatives, the decisive states and the key governor races.
On election night, Grunden will also work at an analysis touchscreen in the election studio. He will evaluate real-time data, from the tightest races and current counting status to final results. In the Berlin election studio, political consultant Julius van de Laar and Stormy-Annika Mildner, director of Aspen Institute Germany, will serve as permanent guests.
WELT launches eight-part "DEEPDIVE AMERICA" series ahead of the vote
The new format has already started. Grunden and van de Laar dissect midterm trends at the touchscreen. Episodes run on TV, YouTube and Instagram.
Former ambassadors, politicians and security experts will assess consequences for Germany and Europe
Former German ambassadors to the US Wolfgang Ischinger and Emily Haber will assess the results and their implications for Germany and Europe. They will be joined by Armin Laschet, Norbert Röttgen, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Omid Nouripour, Anton Hofreiter and Jürgen Hardt, plus security experts Carlo Masala and Nico Lange.
The broadcast schedule runs from 06:00 on Tuesday to 22:00 on Wednesday
- Tuesday, November 3, 06:00 to 21:15: Continuous live coverage of election day, with reporter links to decisive states. It is followed by "WELT-Reporter Spezial."
- Tuesday, 23:45 to Wednesday, 06:00: Election-night special hosted by Marie Droste and Carsten Hädler. It includes Grunden's live data analysis, permanent guests van de Laar and Mildner, and live talks from the Capitol with Fuhst and Kirschbaum.
- Wednesday, November 4, 06:00 to 14:30: Post-election coverage hosted by Tatjana Ohm and Thomas Klug. Marco Reinke provides newsroom analysis, with reactions from Washington and Berlin.
- Wednesday, until 22:00: Special broadcasts through the day with guests including Ischinger, Röttgen, Hofreiter, Strack-Zimmermann, Haber, Nouripour, Masala, Hardt and Gabor Steingart.