by Shauneen Miranda, Rhode Island Current
October 13, 2026
WASHINGTON — As partisan tensions rise in advance of the fast-approaching midterm elections, students will test their knowledge Wednesday in a field that’s long enjoyed bipartisan support: civics.
Fifty-two middle school students hailing from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and American Samoa, will compete at the annual National Civics Bee Championship in the nation’s capital.
For the first time ever, C-SPAN will televise the nonpartisan civics competition set for 8 p.m. Eastern and hosted by actor and game show host Jerry O’Connell.
Students will showcase their knowledge of “American government, the Constitution and the civic challenges facing their communities,” according to a press release.
The winner of the competition, presented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, will be awarded a $100,000 529 education savings plan.
The 52 students advanced in state and local competitions from across the country.
Sam Martin of Little Compton will represent Rhode Island. He won the statewide civics finals in June at the Swift Community Center in East Greenwich the day after graduating from the eighth grade at Wilbur & McMahon School. The finals were sponsored by the East Greenwich Chamber of Commerce and moderated by East Greenwich News Editor Elizabeth McNamara.
Martin, now a ninth grader at Portsmouth High School who wants to study law in college, credits his interest in civics to his eighth grade social studies teacher Lee Torres.
Middle school students first submitted essays on “how they would improve their communities through civics” — a branch of social studies centered on rights and obligations of citizenship. Their essay topics ranged from homelessness to childhood poverty to solar energy.
The students with the top essay scores moved on to regional competitions within their states, and the regional winners advanced to a final competition in their states.
Each state’s first place winners made it to the nation’s capital to compete in Wednesday’s championship.
Rhode Island Current Editor-in-Chief Janine L. Weisman contributed to this report.
Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com.
