CBS News Partners with Kalshi to Feature Prediction Market Data in 2026 Midterm Coverage
CBS News will integrate Kalshi prediction market data into its 2026 midterm coverage alongside polling, focusing on congressional control plus races in Texas and Maine. Current Kalshi odds give Democrats 63% for the Senate and 91% for the House. The deal builds on Kalshi’s prior pacts with CNN, CNBC, and AP amid CFTC regulatory proposals.
SCCG Take — This cements prediction markets as mainstream election tools for major broadcasters. Operators and regulators must now clarify boundaries between event contracts and prohibited gambling to sustain legitimacy.
CBS News has partnered with prediction market operator Kalshi to integrate its data into coverage of the 2026 US midterm elections. The agreement designates Kalshi as the network’s prediction market sponsor and will incorporate its forecasts alongside polling, reporting, and analysis for congressional control and key races. The partnership was announced on CBS Mornings by Anthony Salvanto, executive director of elections and surveys at CBS News.
Combining Polling with Market Forecasts
Salvanto demonstrated the approach by reviewing CBS polling models for House outcomes before turning to Kalshi data. “Polls give Americans a way to express how they feel,” Salvanto said. “They are not predictions of what will happen in November.” He compared prediction markets to stock trading, where buying and selling reflects views on candidates or parties.
Current Kalshi figures assign Democrats a 63% chance of Senate control and a 91% chance of holding the House. The Texas Senate race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton has generated more than $16.4 million in trading volume, with Talarico at 62% probability. The Maine Senate market involving incumbent Susan Collins and challenger Troy Jackson shows more than $10.9 million in volume and a 59% chance for Jackson. Tarek Mansour, Kalshi chief executive officer, stated that the markets “aggregate beliefs from millions of Americans and force ideas from all sides to compete in the open, driven by a simple and transparent incentive: to be right.”
Kalshi’s Media Network and Regulatory Backdrop
The CBS deal follows Kalshi partnerships with CNN in December 2025 as its official prediction market partner, a multiyear exclusive with CNBC, and an agreement with The Associated Press in March for official vote counts and race calls. Some reports note ties to Fox News Media. Kalshi operates as a designated contract market under CFTC oversight after a 2024 federal court ruling enabled election contracts. The partnership emerges as the CFTC issued a February 2026 enforcement advisory on fraud and misuse and submitted rulemaking proposals on event contracts and their distinction from gambling products.
As reported by World Casino News, the arrangement expands Kalshi‘s presence in major media while prediction markets draw heightened regulatory attention.
Reporting: World Casino News
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
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