NBC News to Launch Kornacki Cam for Gubernatorial and Los Angeles Mayoral Races

After California polls close on Tuesday, NBC News chief data analyst Steve Kornacki will begin a live election-night stream focused on real-time vote counting and analysis. The “Kornacki Cam” has been running since December across NBC News digital platforms, offering continuous coverage of special elections and some state Senate contests without outside pundit commentary. The format centers on Kornacki, his Big Board, a producer and a Stedicam operator, and is distributed on YouTube, NBCNews.com, the NBC News app and NBC News social accounts on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. NBC News said the stream has drawn 19 million viewers across 10 sessions so far.

On Tuesday night, the stream will focus on key California contests, including the Los Angeles mayoral primary and several congressional districts, shortly after polls close at 8 p.m. Pacific. NBC News also said its decision desk has called 70% of the 2026 elections ahead of the Associated Press.

In an interview, Kornacki said mayoral polling is often unreliable and that the Los Angeles race appears most favorable to Mayor Karen Bass among the three leading candidates mentioned, which also include reality TV star Spencer Pratt and City Council member Nithya Raman. He said polling suggests Pratt has shown the most positive momentum in recent weeks, but he cautioned that the race could still be volatile.

Kornacki said the San Fernando Valley will be a key area to watch because it is expected to provide a large share of the vote, potentially close to 40%. He said Pratt would likely need a strong margin there to stay competitive, while Bass is expected to depend on central and South Los Angeles, which together could provide roughly one-third of the vote. He also said the Westside could be a battleground. He noted that the team is still determining how granular its precinct-level and neighborhood-level coverage can be in the mayor’s race.

He said turnout may be higher than in Los Angeles’ 2022 mayoral race because this contest has received more national attention and because Pratt’s celebrity status has drawn interest. The 2022 total was 646,000 votes, and Kornacki said NBC will be watching whether this year’s turnout finishes above or below that level.

For the gubernatorial race, Kornacki pointed to Orange County as an early indicator, saying it has often been among the first large counties to report substantial vote totals. He also mentioned parts of the Central Valley, including Merced and Fresno counties, as areas that can quickly produce useful returns soon after polls close.

Kornacki emphasized that nothing will be definitive in the first hour after polls close in California. He said a full count could take days or even weeks because the state typically processes a large share of mail ballots after election night. California can continue receiving vote-by-mail ballots for up to seven days after Election Day, and updates may continue as officials count remaining votes.

Kornacki said the popularity of this style of coverage reflects a broader shift in political media consumption, with more viewers eager for uninterrupted election analysis and real-time results.