S4E8 · America Decides

The night of the presidential election, Tom braces himself to manage the ATN newsroom, using cocaine to help fight his sleep deprivation. Greg, who went out for drinks with Matsson and his team the previous night, tells Tom of Shiv and Matsson's covert alliance.

The siblings disagree about which candidate to support. Roman continues to back far-right Congressman Jeryd Mencken, who he knows will advance Waystar's agenda. Shiv, still secretly aligned with Matsson and concerned about the threat Mencken represents to American democracy, backs Democrat Daniel Jiménez, who she believes will allow the GoJo deal to go through. Kendall receives a call from Rava, who reiterates her and Sophie's fear about the consequences of Mencken winning. He then calls Nate and unsuccessfully attempts to convince him and Jiménez to block the GoJo deal. Roman is summoned to meet face-to-face with Mencken, who asks him to frame the election as a victory for Mencken regardless of whether he actually wins the vote, promising Roman significant influence under his presidency.

A voting center in Milwaukee is set on fire, destroying thousands of ballots that likely would have gone to Jiménez given the county's liberal-majority electorate. Shiv reminds her siblings that the absentee ballots must be accounted for in order for the Wisconsin vote to be valid, but Roman attempts to use the situation to call the vote in Wisconsin early for Mencken. Shiv takes Tom aside and attempts to apologize for their fight the previous night, but the conversation quickly turns hostile; when Shiv reveals to him she is pregnant, Tom expresses skepticism, suspecting this is just another tactic to manipulate him. Roman allows ATN anchor Mark Ravenhead to accuse the Democrats of the firebombing, alarming Matsson. Shiv attempts to threaten Greg into silence about her collusion with Matsson.

Roman reports to Kendall that Mencken has promised to block the GoJo deal in exchange for ATN's support. ATN poll analyst Darwin Perry warns Roman and Tom that ATN could lose credibility by calling the vote in Wisconsin prematurely, but Roman ignores his concerns, and Tom suggests they make a "pending" call in Wisconsin for Mencken, with Darwin on air to explain the caveat. However, chaos ensues when Darwin accidentally gets wasabi in his eyes, preventing him from going on air; Tom then greenlights ATN to officially call Wisconsin for Mencken. Connor arrives at the newsroom, having decided to concede the race and support Mencken in exchange for being named the U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia. He gives a rambling yet headstrong concession speech, which is aired live on ATN.

Jiménez wins Michigan, placing both candidates at 262 electoral votes, with only Alaska and Arizona yet to be called. Darwin projects a win for Mencken in Arizona, but cautions against calling the election given the uncertainty in Wisconsin. Kendall takes Roman aside to express his qualms about endangering his family, while Roman continues to trivialize the political consequences in favor of his own self-interest. Torn between his family and business interests, Kendall confides his anxieties about failing his children to Shiv, who attempts to appeal to his sense of morality to sway him away from Mencken.

Kendall asks Shiv to call Nate to inquire whether Jiménez is willing to block the GoJo sale, but Shiv merely pretends to make the call, and gives vague answers to her brothers about Jiménez's stance. Kendall learns the truth when he calls Jiménez's team himself and subsequently confirms with Greg that Shiv is working with Matsson.

Feeling hurt by his sister's betrayal, Kendall throws in his support for Mencken, ignoring Shiv's pleas to consider the danger Mencken poses to the American political system. Tom orders Greg to inform the newsroom of the decision to call the election for Mencken, and he hesitatingly obeys. ATN announces Mencken as the winner of the election, and PGN begins airing reports naming Tom responsible for prematurely calling the vote. Shiv calls Matsson to promise to undo the damage and bring down Waystar. On his way home, an ashamed Kendall calls Rava and asks to see his children. She refuses, leaving him to ponder his decision.