NBC News anchor Tom Llamas is taking “NBC Nightly News” and his streaming program “Top Story” on the road ahead of the 2026 midterms, kicking off a three-state reporting tour Wednesday in Detroit, TheWrap has exclusively learned.
The trip is part of NBC News’ push to cover competitive races on the ground ahead of the Nov. 3 elections, with Llamas interviewing candidates and speaking with voters about the issues shaping their decisions. The network plans to visit two additional battleground states in the coming weeks, bringing its election reporting to both broadcast and streaming audiences.
“The midterms are the biggest story going right now,” Matt Frucci, executive producer of both programs, told TheWrap. “There are lots of very state-specific issues that are going to determine these races, so we want to make sure we get out and cover those big specific issues.”
Frucci said NBC News is choosing its stops based on how competitive the races are and where it can explore local concerns with a mix of voters and candidates.
The two programs will offer different levels of coverage. While “Nightly News” has roughly 22 minutes of editorial time, “Top Story,” which streams on NBC News NOW, runs more than 50 minutes, giving Llamas more room for extended candidate interviews and additional reporting.
“You’ll get a good chunk of that in ‘Nightly,’ but you’ll get most of it on ‘Top Story,’” Frucci said. “We’ll be able to play extended versions of those interviews on Top Story.”
Llamas will anchor “NBC Nightly News” from Detroit on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by “Top Story” at 7 p.m. ET on NBC News NOW.
NBC’s broader midterm coverage will also feature Steve Kornacki’s first midterms exclusively with NBC News following the NBCUniversal cable split, along with additional election analysis available through the network’s paid digital subscription.
To bring both programs on the road, NBC News is drawing on its existing bureaus, with crews and technical staff from Chicago joining producers and other personnel traveling from New York.
Frucci said the network pulled the operation together relatively quickly, relying on its experience sending crews into the field for major stories.
“It’s a muscle we’re used to flexing,” he said.
