A student organization is hosting a draft competition for the 2026 midterm elections, allowing participants to select candidates and win points based on their electoral success.
The draft, hosted by the Politics and Leadership Club, is an effort to get students interested in national political races and to inform them about election laws.
Jack Hinrichs, the vice president of the club and a junior studying politics and the economy, said the goal is to break down obstacles to political knowledge.
"I like to think of it as fantasy football for politics," Hinrichs said.
Participants will put together a roster of candidates running across the country, Hinrichs said. They earn five points for every primary and general election the candidates win.
People do not have to be members of the Politics and Leadership Club or ASU students to join the draft, Hinrichs said.
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Emma Lydick, the secretary of the Politics and Leadership Club and a senior studying political science, said the candidate draft provides a competitive opportunity to learn.
"It's a great way to enjoy the fun and competitiveness of fantasy football and all of the excitement, commotion and competitiveness that brings while applying it to something that actually changes laws and legislation and the direction of our country," Lydick said.
Hinrichs said the draft will help people learn more about elections they can't vote in.
"One thing we've noticed is that there are a lot of folks who focus a lot on the politics of the state that they grow up in or that they live in, but they know little to nothing about other states in the U.S.," Hinrichs said.
The draft also aims to educate students about the nation's election system in an attempt to reduce vulnerability to narratives about voter fraud, Hinrichs said. He pointed to the 2020 election, which saw allegations of fraud based on misunderstandings of the mail-in voting system.
"What we're really looking to do now is, how can we take this platform and spread some education from it and use it to bring awareness about politics to other folks?" Hinrichs said.
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Sam Sieckmann, a graduate student studying entrepreneurship and innovation, said he is competing in the draft.
"I'm participating because I've basically followed politics since 2016 — Trump's first election — because I was really invested in that election cycle," Sieckmann said.
He said he is invested in the results of the upcoming midterm elections and has made his selections. His focus is to draft the candidates he thinks will win rather than those he wants to win.
Konstantin Rezvoi, a freshman studying international relations, is also participating. He said the club is offering a gift card and an appearance on "Politics and the Past: Desert Dialogues," the podcast of the Center for American Institutions, as a prize.
"I just think it would be cool to see my answers be correct in the fact that I pay attention to politics, and that's about it," Rezvoi said. "Everything else that they're offering seems like a bonus, although a gift card would be nice."
After drafts are submitted, participants will be able to follow alongside the primary election results through the podcast, Hinrichs said. The updates will also include information about what the results mean for people's scores and rosters.
"We'll be constantly updating you with all the information you need," Hinrichs said.
Entries to the draft will close on March 2, Hinrichs said, a day before the Texas primary elections are held.
Edited by Carsten Oyer, Jack McCarthy and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at swang496@asu.edu.
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