Fox News called the U.S. House of Representatives for the Democrats on Tuesday night just after 9:30 p.m. EST — with polls still open in California for nearly an hour and a half.
No other network followed Fox News’ lead, with CNN and MSNBC preferring instead to track close races, largely east of the Mississippi River.
The decision prompted criticism from pundits and on social media:
At least seven races were thought to be crucial to the final outcome in California, with Democrats targeting seven Republican-held seats where Hillary Clinton won more votes than Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
Fox News’ early call may have discouraged voters from participating in California — and in other western states whose polls remained open.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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