Ryan McLaughlin used “a little Irish luck” and some research to win Roll Call’s Election Contest.

McLaughlin correctly picked 24 of the 30 races that were part of the contest to put himself at the top of 260 entries.

“I picked them all myself,” McLaughlin said. He used different publications, talked to various people and researched each race.

McLaughlin said this was the first election contest he has entered.

Originally from Chicago, McLaughlin has worked in Washington, D.C., for three and a half years. He is a legislative director for Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.).

The 30 races were both Senate and House races. The candidate considered the favorite must win by more than the point spread to count as a correct pick. If the favorite wins by less than the point spread, the underdog is the correct pick.

The first tie-breaker question was to predict the make up of the 109th Congress by party. The second tie-breaker question was to predict the percentage of the vote Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.) would receive in the open primary in Louisiana’s 5th district.

For his winning entry, McLaughlin will receive a free weekend at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Va.

— Sarah Goldstein