Contest idea:
The context for this idea is that I have noticed that there are very few political contests or united groups on this site that share a political agenda. There are groups and contests for photographers, builders, investors, short story fiction writers, STEM subjects, etc. This surprises me a lot since this site was practically build on politics - a crypto self-regulating market.
Therefore, I think there should be a contest that deal with political articles. As for rules, all content would need to be OC and express some political opinion. The winner would be the person who has the best written, most well researched, and most convincing piece. I don't think the precise political issue being debated should be that important. Maybe put a word limit on it so people don't go absolutely crazy - something like 2,000 words.
The payout would be the payout of the relevant post from you all about the contest. People would be required to upvote to qualify, and then leave a comment with a link to their post.
I think such a contest would fill a unique niche that doesn't get that much attention, get a new group of writers involved in the site, and be easy to take part in for new users.
It is an interesting idea which could be turned into something great.
But I see a risk for conflicts, people with strong beliefs fighting for their thing. It is nothing wrong with that, but for a service like this, it is probably better to take a more neutral stance. I like the idea, but I hope you see my point.