Who should earn your vote: Congress 2026, race by race

How we did this

What we covered. Every race for Congress. The Senate races that the major forecasters (Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato’s Crystal Ball) rate as anything other than safe are researched in depth on this page, candidate by candidate. Every other Senate race and all 435 House districts are on the state pages. There, anyone who has served in Congress is scored on one fixed list of key votes, 27 in the House and 24 in the Senate, read straight from the official roll calls of the House Clerk and the Senate; each vote links to the record. The list is the same for every member and it cuts both ways: it includes votes to check President Biden and votes to check President Trump. In the House toss-up districts we also researched the challengers. Elsewhere, a candidate who has never served in Congress has no votes to score and is marked as not scored. That is a gap in our coverage, not a verdict on the candidate.

Two kinds of mark on the state pages. Where both candidates have a record, the mark is head to head: Our pick or Closer to our standards, by the rule below. Where only one candidate could be measured, usually an incumbent facing a first-time challenger, the mark rates that record on its own: Meets our standards for a total of +2 or better, Leans our way for +1, and no mark below that. It is not a verdict on the opponent, whom we did not measure. A full mark also needs a record on at least four of the ten standards, and any mark needs at least three scored votes.

What counts as evidence. Votes, bills, official actions, published platforms and on-the-record statements, each linked to its source. We did not infer anyone’s position from their party. Where a first-time candidate has no record on a standard, it is marked “?” and counts for nothing either way, which means challengers with thin records are scored on less. Read those races with that in mind.

What we did not score. Abortion: our standards page takes no position on it, so it is not part of the mark. Recreational marijuana: we back medical cannabis, so support for it counts for a candidate and blocking it counts against, but we take no side on legalizing recreational use, cannabis banking or hemp rules, and those votes count for nothing either way. Where a candidate’s position on either is part of the public record we have left it for you to weigh yourself.

The rule. On each standard a candidate is for us, against us, mixed, or has no clear record. A vote or an official act counts a full point; a campaign promise or a platform line counts half, because a vote outweighs a promise. Our pick goes to a candidate with a total of at least +2 who is at least two points clear of the opponent. Closer to our standards goes to a candidate with a positive total who is at least one point clear. Anything less is no endorsement. It is a blunt instrument on purpose: you can check our arithmetic.

The two standards added on 17 September 2026. The right to bear arms, and hard punishment for violent crime: no bail for people charged with violent crimes and no parole or early release for people convicted of them. On guns, a vote or stand for a ban on commonly owned firearms or magazines, a red-flag law, a higher purchase age or a registry counts against; defending carry and ownership rights counts for; support for background checks or safe storage alone is mixed. A letter grade from the NRA or a gun-control group counts as a statement, at half weight, and a grade with nothing else behind it, or one the group does not explain, is not counted at all. On crime, we score bail, parole and sentencing for violent offences only. The death penalty is not scored, and neither are positions on non-violent or drug offences. In Congress the three House votes on violent crime all concern the District of Columbia, because that is where Congress writes criminal law; some members voted no on home-rule grounds, and you should read those marks with that in mind. Several marks changed when these standards were added, and each verdict says so.

How recurring votes were read. The same vote is read the same way for everyone. A yes on the 2024 TikTok divest-or-ban law counts against free speech. A yes on the Kids Online Safety Act is mixed: the aim is child safety, the speech concerns are real. A yes on the 2025 reconciliation law is mixed on smaller government: it cut taxes and some spending and, by the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate, added $3.4 trillion to deficits. The 99-1 vote to strike the moratorium on state AI laws is mixed for everyone. A yes on reauthorizing FISA Section 702 without a warrant requirement counts against.

Corrections. These are real people and a real election. If we have a fact wrong, a vote misread or a nominee out of date, tell us at notebook@claytribune.com and we will fix it and say so here. Last checked: 17 September 2026.

Before you vote. Registration deadlines and polling places differ by state. The official place to check yours is vote.gov.