In the spirit of the late William Safire’s long-running “Office Pool,” I bring you this column’s predictions for 2026 — from Senate races to unexpected congressional resignations, and even the future of a certain controversial new college football hire.
To make it easier, and have some fun, the soothsaying is multiple choice. Feel free to answer yourself, but worry not, accountability-seekers: My guesses will also be included under each question, along with some context. Yes, I’m borrowing an earlier era’s format. But the same can be said about end-of-year columns as is said for old yarns: no new stories, only new audiences.
So with hopes that this will be new to most and bring back fond memories for others, let’s get to the guessing: 16 for ’26.
1) What Washington landmark will President Donald Trump name after himself in conjunction with America’s 250th birthday?
A) Dulles Airport
B) The Dulles Airport “people-movers”
C) Arlington Memorial Bridge
D) The National Mall
2) Should Justice Samuel Alito retire, or another vacancy open on the Supreme Court, who will Trump appoint?
A) Jeanine Pirro
B) Andrew Oldham
C) Aileen Cannon
D) Ted Cruz
3) How soon after appointing his new “My Kevin” — Kevin Hassett or Kevin Warsh — as Federal Reserve Chair will Trump pressure him to lower interest rates?
A) In the Truth Social post announcing his selection
B) In his remarks at the White House event making it official
C) In response to shouted press questions at said White House event
D) Never — Trump will fulfill his New Year’s resolution respecting the traditional independence of the Fed
4) Now that he’s ordered strikes on targets in Iran, Nigeria, Syria, Somalia, Yemen and over the Caribbean, what country will Trump attack next?
A) Venezuela
B) Iran, again
C) Russia
D) Canada, and specifically the provincial capitol building in Toronto, should Premier Doug Ford run another tariff ad on American TV
5) Trump will endorse the winning candidate in which Republican primary?
A) Kentucky’s Fourth Congressional District, represented by Rep. Thomas Massie
B) Indiana State Senate District 37, represented by Rod Bray, the president pro tempore who defied Trump’s redistricting demands
C) U.S. Senate in Texas
D) U.S. Senate in Louisiana
6) For all of the attention Democrats are lavishing on the Texas Senate campaign, which other Senate races will have a closer final margin in the general election?
A) Maine
B) North Carolina
C) Ohio
D) Nebraska
E) All of the above
7) Which 2028 Democratic presidential hopeful will unwittingly hurt their candidacy by writing a book?
A) Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, by revealing he’s still doing self-discovery in his late-50s
B) Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, by revisiting the arson of the governor’s mansion so much that a tragedy becomes an origin story for a campaign — and without much subtlety
C) Former Vice President Kamala Harris, by confusing book tour crowds and enthusiasm for the notion that Democrats want to relive anything relating to 2024
D) Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, by showing, again, that he’s the smartest kid in class and affirming his future in appointive, not elective, politics
8) After next year’s election, the Trump-ordered redrawing of red state House maps and subsequent arms race will be seen as:
A) A political masterstroke
B) Having helped Democrats retake the House
C) The hinge point marking Trump’s slide from full control of the GOP
D) Close to a wash: Republicans picked up a few seats but between the Trump-imposed redraw and the new maps enacted after the Supreme Court guts the Voting Rights Act, the GOP got greedy and imperiled a few incumbents who lost in a difficult year after their previously-safe districts absorbed more Democrats.
9) Which House Republican, after Marjorie Taylor Greene, will resign before this session of Congress is over?
A) Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.)
B) Rep. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.)
C) Rep. Victoria Spartz (Ind.)
D) Rep. Cory Mills (Fla.)
10) By the end of 2026, which Republican will emerge as the best-positioned to challenge J.D. Vance for the 2028 GOP nomination?
A) Ted Cruz
B) Ivanka Trump
C) Tucker Carlson
D) Marco Rubio
11) The first major Trump appointee to leave his or her post will be:
A) Kash Patel
B) Kristi Noem
C) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
D) Pete Hegseth
12) Who is finally able to convince Trump that Vladimir Putin has no interest in stopping the war and only wants to string Trump along?
A) Marco Rubio
B) Alex Stubb
C) Sylvester Stallone
D) Jared Kushner
13) What “known unknown” will take place in 2026?
A) China invades Taiwan
B) Russia finds a pretext to attack another neighbor
C) Lula and Trump begin to hit it off, and Trump offers the leftist leader his “total and complete endorsement” ahead of Brazil’s fall election
D) The west endures irregular but persistent terrorist attacks from non-state actors, like the massacre in Sydney
14) Democrats will flip the governorship of which state?
A) Florida
B) Ohio
C) Iowa
D) Alabama
15) NVDA shares will close 2026 at?
A) $300
B) $250
C) $175
D) $37 — the tech bubble finally bursts
16) The results from season one of the Lane Kiffin Experiment at LSU will be:
A) Drama and a debacle of a year
B) Drama and just good enough of a season to make the playoffs
C) Drama and dominance, with the Tigers poised to win the national title
D) Incomplete because Lane’s interest in hot yoga takes him away from football and he leaves Baton Rouge to embark on a midlife-crisis Eat Pray Love — but with naan, Hinduism and a nice co-ed on the subcontinent
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