The head of Fox News’ election decision desk recently warned that he does not expect the final results of the 2024 presidential election between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris to be announced until the Saturday after Election Day.
“The over/under is Saturday,” Arnon Mishkin, the head of Fox News’ decision desk, told Politico during a recent interview. “Which was when the call was made last time.”
Politico reported that Mishkin is known for being the election analyst who called Arizona in 2020 for President Joe Biden way before any other networks.
Asked how soon he expects the election results to be finalized, Mishkin shared his belief that the 2024 election results could take days to determine, saying, “The race seems very, very close. It is dependent on a number of states, like Pennsylvania, that we believe are going to be reporting in a pattern similar to the way they have reported in the past. So I’d say, the over/under is Saturday. Which was when the call was made last time. Which is when Pennsylvania is likely to come in.”
Mishkin added, “I think we have to accept the reality that we don’t really know how close this election is going to be. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be close.”
READ MORE: Video: Michigan won’t have election results right away, official says
While Mishkin personally believes the race between Trump and Harris will be close, acknowledged that recent polls have suggested that the election may not be as close as many people expect. On the one hand, he said some polls have shown that Trump may be “gaining” in the race, while on the other hand, he has “another sense” that the former president “may be declining.”
“I think the real issue is what happens to Trump,” Mishkin said. “I’ve always thought this about this election: It’s less about who’s running against him than it’s about Trump.”
Addressing the difference between mail-in ballots and in-person voting on Election Day, Mishkin said he expects that the divide between the way Republicans and Democrats vote will be less of a factor than during the 2020 election.
“What we don’t know now — but we kind of knew then — was that there was going to be an enormous skew in the vote type,” Mishkin said. “I think that skew is going to be less this time. I don’t know how much less. I know it’s still going to be there, but the Republicans are doing a much better job of encouraging people to vote however they want.”
