Steve Kornackiloyalists who have made the fan-favorite data analyst a part of their election night ritual will have no shortage of content throughout the 2026 midterms season.
On Tuesday, March 3, forthe first primary elections of the year, NBC News debuted the "Kornacki Cam," a livestream feed that allows viewers to watch Kornacki every minute of election night, as he crunches results in real time, shuffles through his papers, scrolls on his phone and takes sips of his bottled spring water.
"It's liberating," Kornacki toldThe Hollywood Reporterof the around-the-clock feed. "I think typically on an election night, there's a certain bar that I would have to reach with the election returns to get the producer's attention, to get me on the air with the result. Doing it this way, on this livestream, there is no bar. Every result makes air. Every county result makes air. Every little twist and turn makes air."
The Kornacki Cam, which streams live on NBC News' digital platforms, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, allows viewers to watch the entirety of the data analyst's process on election night. Kornacki will analyze live results to the streaming audience, with brief breaks when he needs to provide an on-air update onNBC News Now.
"Here's a chance to just do the results start to stop, from the first precinct reporting until the race is called, to be able to show the viewers and take the viewers on that journey that I've been taking every election night, and I've been able to share parts of it with them. Now, I can share the whole thing," Kornacki toldTHR.
"Every time I see something come in, a new result comes in from a county or from a certain part of the state, I can show it right away. I can talk about it," he added. "And I think the viewer has the opportunity to get a much more kind of comprehensive picture of how the election was won or lost."
For NBC News, the livestream also provides an unprecedented level of transparency at a time when media bias is a hot-button issue.
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"We are very hopeful that this is something that can help restore trust by being more transparent," said Rebecca Blumenstein, president of NBC News editorial.
"Steve is sitting there at the big board, he's getting the signal from the decision desk that the result is coming in. … He's giving it to viewers and readers as it's happening, and then he's tabulating the results of one county versus another and what's going to happen," she added. "With Steve, there's almost zero punditry. He's able to break down data in real time, in a way that no one else can."
PEOPLE confirmed in April 2025 thatKornacki was parting with MSNBCafter 13 years, amid several major shakeups in the NBC family of networks that saw MSNBC —newly retitled as MS NOW—spin off into a different company.
In his role as NBC News' chief data analyst, he appears onNBC News Now,Meet the Press,TodayandNBC Nightly News,in addition to pursuing other projects outside the network.
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Over at MS NOW, the election big board is now manned by Ali Velshi, whospoke with PEOPLElast November about how it felt to fill the large metaphorical khakis left behind by Kornacki — who firstbecame a fan-favoriteduring the 2020 presidential election.
"It was an honor," Velshi said. "Steve set a very high bar, and stepping to the wall on election night is equal parts adrenaline and discipline — my job is to make a seemingly chaotic stream of numbers feel coherent and useful in real time."
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