You’re the editor of tomorrow’s paper. Call every race, then decide what makes the front page: one lead headline, two columns above the fold and two below it. Everything else runs in the roundup on page 2.
Picks lock at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, when the first East Coast polls close. After that, picks are read-only.
Each race gets two predictions: the winner, and whether a winner will be projected by 1 a.m. local time in the race's state (the ✓ switch). Together they set your headline: the winner, or “too close to call” if you switch the ✓ off.
Scoring — we’re going to level with you. We haven’t quite figured out the scoring balance yet. It’ll be something like this, but we’re still playing with the scoop adjustment:
Base score: 2 points for a correct headline on a race called by 1 a.m., and 1 point for correctly saying a race will go unprojected.
Scoops: the more editors who run the same headline as you, the less it’s worth. Exactly how much less is what we’re still tuning.
Placement multiplier: below the fold ×2, above the fold ×3, lead headline ×5.
Chambers: your Senate and House makeup runs below the fold on your front page, but chamber seats don’t score in the Election Day edition. The final edition will score them.
Unresolved means no winner has been called by 1 a.m. local time in that state.
Photos and district maps from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licenses shown; district outlines are cut from the full maps. Candidates without a freely licensed photo are shown with initials. State outlines: “Blank US Map (states only)” by Heitordp, CC0.