We’ve long established that Steve Kornacki is our favorite “map daddy.” The bespectacled elections analyst loves it when the results pour in and far-flung counties light up in different shades of blue or red.
As the most recent pound of primaries unfolded deep into Tuesday night, it looked like Kornacki was reaching ecstasy. The Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor was a nail biter, with the top two candidates only separated by roughly 3,000 votes.
With 15,000 ballots in Milwaukee still outstanding, it looked like Wisconsin’s biggest city was just minutes away from deciding the all-important race, a clash between the Democratic Party’s two warring factions in the swingiest of swing states.
In short, the moment was everything that a pundit like Kornacki dreams of. But then, his big moment was sullied by human error.
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Whomp, whomp…
Early Wednesday morning, the head of Milwaukee’s elections announced there would be a long delay before the final count. Results from five out of nine machines had not been properly uploaded to USB drives. When asked if the disastrous misstep was simply a case of somebody pressing the wrong button, she said “yes.”
Kornacki responded like any distressed person would: with nervous, almost maniacal-like laughter.
“Are you serious?!” he said with his head in his hands. “OK. Umm…”
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One can understand Kornacki’s consternation. It’s been a rough run for election analysts, given the president’s obsession with seeding doubt about the very fabric of our democracy. In an interview this week, Tr*mp refused to rule out declaring a national emergency before the midterms.
Since returning to office, Tr*mp has appointed a growing number of 2020 election deniers in key roles, from county election boards to the highest levels of the federal government.
Compounding the problem, several states can’t tabulate their votes in a timely manner. The worst offender is California, the nation’s largest, where results often take a week to trickle in.
On Wednesday, Wisconsin fell into that embarrassing category. Kornacki was crestfallen. With a potential multi-hour wait on the horizon, he told NBC viewers he was considering ending the broadcast.
“We’re kind of indefinitely waiting for them to get their act together here, and get the sticks and bring them back,” he said. “We’ve got folks here who are working real late. I don’t think we want to keep them here… this could go 90 minutes. And it’s 90 minutes of me saying, ‘Have you heard of any other athletes running for Congress?’”
Given that Kornacki is a big sports fan, he probably could fill 90 minutes talking about athletes running for Congress. But alas, it wasn’t to be.
People had to get back to their families.
“I’m just trying to say to the audience here, so I’m not abruptly ending on them, why we’re doing this,” he said. “I want you to know, I hate, hate doing this to you, because I know you’re here for results, and it’s come to the point where it’s one thing away. I hope you understand, everyone here has been here for a long time.”
Despite the tabulating error, the “Kornacki Cam” remained on until the very end. Milwaukee County exec David Crowley edged out Madison rep. Francesca Hong by about 4,000 votes after some polls showed the democratic socialist leading by double digits.
By the end of the night–which at this point was well into Wednesday morning–Kornacki seemed to regain his mojo. “Thank you so much to everyone who joined in for our livestream last night,” he posted on X. “I couldn’t believe how many of you were right there with me as Milwaukee kept us waiting (and waiting) into the wee hours. I hope you got at least a little sleep!”
Onto the next primary night we go!
It was my favorite tv ive watched all year.
— kang (@jaycaspiankang) August 12, 2026
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