“"CNN closely examined county-level votes in seven states where Democrats flipped a Senate seat that had been held by a Republican — Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, Maine and New Hampshire" — CNN, Matt Stiles, Brett Taylor, Curt Merrill, Koko Nakajima, Annette Choi and Renée Rigdon, Nov. 8, 2026”

The claim: “"CNN closely examined county-level votes in seven states where Democrats flipped a Senate seat that had been held by a Republican — Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, Maine and New Hampshire" — CNN, Matt Stiles, Brett Taylor, Curt Merrill, Koko Nakajima, Annette Choi and Renée Rigdon, Nov. 8, 2026”

Why we rated it this way: The same CNN story correctly says Democrats flipped seven Republican-held Senate seats. The list that follows names eight states and includes New Hampshire. NBC News, using Associated Press data, reports that Democrat Chris Pappas won New Hampshire's Senate race "to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen," a hold rather than a flip of a Republican-held seat. The seven seats that changed parties, as compiled from called results, are Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas.

What would change our rating: Official results showing the New Hampshire Senate seat had been held by a Republican immediately before the 2026 election, or a corrected CNN list of the seven flip states that matches the called results, would move this verdict.