Wall Street Journal publishes 10-question midterm economy quiz

Readers score their knowledge of earlier economic and political contests

The Wall Street Journal published the 10-question item on Nov. 3, 2026. Its stated format asks readers to answer every question before receiving a final score, with the questions drawn from the relationship between economic conditions and political developments in past elections.

The publication introduced the quiz with a direct description of the election-year stakes: “The economy is front and center for the midterm elections, as President Trump and the Republicans vie with Democrats over who will control Congress.” That framing places economic conditions and the struggle over congressional control within the same political context.

The item asks, “How did the economy and politics play out in past elections?” Its reference points are previous election cycles, and its stated task is to test how much readers know about the way economic conditions and politics played out in those contests. The scoring format turns that question into a self-assessed knowledge exercise.

The headline narrows the economic focus with the question, “Who Was President When Mortgage Rates Were Over 18%?” It places a stated mortgage-rate threshold within the quiz’s broader examination of presidential timing and political history.

Quiz takers answer all 10 questions before receiving their final score. The announcement therefore presents the economy through both historical questions and a direct reader format, while using the current contest over control of Congress as its political backdrop.

Christopher Mims is credited for the keywords. Justin Lahart is identified as an economics reporter based in New York. He previously was a Heard on the Street columnist and wrote the Ahead of the Tape column.

Chiqui Esteban is identified as The Wall Street Journal’s director of graphics in Washington, D.C. Esteban previously worked as graphics director for the Washington Post and the Boston Globe and as deputy art, maps and graphics director for National Geographic.

Taken together, the quiz has two stated elements: it tests readers’ knowledge of how the economy and politics played out in past elections, and it places that historical lens against the current fight over control of Congress. The Wall Street Journal’s product is a 10-question historical quiz with a final score, framed around the economy’s place in past elections and its prominence in the current congressional contest.