Candidate · November 3, 2026
Whitfield Harrington Jr
On the ballot for U.S. Senate · Illinois
- raised through Oct 14, 2026
- $143K
- cash on hand
- $19K
- issues with public statements
- 24
§1On the ballot
Why this matters: This is exactly how the candidate appears on your ballot, from the state's official candidate list.
| Office | U.S. Senate · Illinois1 |
|---|---|
| Party on the ballot | American Center Party1 |
| Status | Open seat — no incumbent is running for this seat. |
| Also on the ballot |
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§2Who they are
Why this matters: Background and experience help you judge how someone might do the job. These come from public records and the candidate's own materials.
Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.
Harrington was born and raised in Belzoni, Mississippi, the 20th of 21 children; his father, a pastor and carpenter, chaired the Humphreys County NAACP for seven years.2 He earned a political science degree from Delta State University.2 He worked in banking and insurance and later ran his own insurance practice.2 He moved to Chicago in 2013, where he serves as a pastor.2 He describes himself as an independent candidate who is helping to form a new political party, the American Center Party.2
Why they say they're running
His campaign website says Illinois needs a senator who governs from the center rather than the extremes, and that he is asking for votes on the strength of his plan, which he calls Renovate the American Dream.2
Websites and accounts
- Campaign websitewhit4ilsenate.com2
- Facebookfacebook.com/Whit4ILSenate2
- Instagraminstagram.com/whit4ilsenate2
- TikToktiktok.com/@whitfieldharrington12
- YouTubeyoutube.com/@WhitfieldHarringtonForUSSenate2
§3What they've said on the issues
Why this matters: These are positions the candidate has stated publicly — on their campaign website or in public statements — summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Issues they haven't spoken about publicly are left out.
Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.
Each issue has its own range of views. A position is marked on that range only when the candidate's own statement clearly matches one option; there is no overall left–right score.
Education
His campaign website says he would make the first year of community college free.2
His campaign website says he supports school choice.3
His campaign website says women's sports should be reserved for biological females.3
- Require teams based on sex at birth
- Let each state decide
- Let schools or sports organizations set rules case by case
- Teams based on gender identity
His campaign website says he would forgive the student loans of doctors who open Direct Primary Care clinics right out of school and of rural doctors, and provide grants and loans to help such clinics open and stay open.2
- Narrow or end existing forgiveness programs, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness
- Keep current forgiveness programs, with no new cancellation
- Add targeted relief, such as more forgiveness for public service workers or through income-based repayment
- Broad cancellation of student debt
His campaign website says part of the Department of Education's budget should be redirected to give teachers a free daily meal.2
Economy, Jobs and Trade
Foreign Policy and Defense
His campaign website says he would redirect 20% of the defense budget, on a two-year cycle, toward US bases and military housing, roads, bridges, rail, the power grid and strategic stockpiles.2
His campaign website says the US should remain a friend of Israel, and that US military assistance should generally take the form of arms sales or repayable loans rather than open-ended grants.3
His campaign website says humanitarian relief should not rest mainly on the United States and that the United Nations and its members should take the lead.3
His campaign website says no American troops should deploy without a clear mission, cost and exit plan voted on by Congress.2
- Let the president order military action without needing Congress's approval
- Let the president act first, but enforce the 60-day limit and end any action Congress doesn't approve
- Require Congress to approve military action in advance, except to defend against an attack
His campaign website says the US should step back without stepping away so that allies step up, that European allies have relied on the US instead of investing in their own security and should take the stronger voice on Russia and Ukraine, and that US commitments abroad should be drawn down carefully.2
Elections and Government Reform
His campaign website says he supports consecutive term limits and an honest discussion about age limits.2
His campaign website says he would revise the filibuster rather than end it, keeping it when one party controls the White House and both chambers of Congress, not applying it when the minority party already controls at least one chamber, and limiting how many times it can be used.2
His campaign website says he supports absentee ballots for voters who request or need them but opposes mailing ballots to all voters.3
- Mail a ballot to every registered voter
- Let any voter request a mail ballot without giving a reason
- Allow mail ballots only for voters with a reason, such as illness, disability or travel
- End most mail voting, keeping it for military and overseas voters
Immigration
His campaign website says immigration laws must be enforced and criminals deported, while ICE should be reined in when its conduct becomes excessive or unaccountable and family separation prevented, and that people who choose to leave on their own should be helped to do so.2,
His campaign website says the border should be secured with whatever each sector needs, including manpower, technology and physical barriers.2
His campaign website says legal immigration should be made easier than entering the country illegally.2
Abortion and Reproductive Health
His campaign website says he is pro-life, believes life begins at conception and that the law should protect unborn life in all circumstances, and calls for more support for pregnant women and mothers.3
Guns
His campaign website says he supports the Second Amendment, sensible background checks and reasonable safeguards, but will oppose laws that deny responsible citizens their rights.3
Family and Social Policy
His campaign website says that if called on to vote on the definition of marriage, he would vote for marriage as a union of a man and a woman, while no one should be mistreated because of sexual orientation.3
- Keep same-sex marriage legal in every state
- Let each state decide whether to allow it
- Recognize only marriages between one man and one woman
Health Care
His campaign website says he would expand Direct Primary Care, in which patients pay a doctor a low monthly fee for unlimited visits without going through insurance, and that cutting out insurance companies as middlemen will bring health care costs down.2
Taxes and Budget
His campaign website says he would create a Cabinet-level anti-fraud department whose one mission is to find stolen taxpayer dollars and get them back.2
Crime, Policing and Prisons
His campaign website says the way President Trump sent the National Guard into Chicago is a slippery slope that must be called out.2
§4Money
Why this matters: Campaigns report where their money comes from and how much they have left. Outside groups that spend on their own, without coordinating with the campaign, report that too.
Reported to the Federal Election Commission for the 2025–2026 election cycle, through October 14, 2026.4
| Raised | $143,382 |
|---|---|
| Spent | $123,897 |
| Cash on hand | $19,484 |
| Debts owed by the campaign | $74,050 |
Where the money came from
§5Financial disclosures
Why this matters: Federal candidates and members of Congress must report their assets, income, debts and outside jobs, and members must report stock trades. These filings show possible conflicts of interest.
Senate candidates and senators file with the Senate's own disclosure system, which asks each visitor to agree to its terms before searching, so we can't link straight to a filing. You can search for Whitfield Harrington Jr at efdsearch.senate.gov5.