Whitfield Harrington Jr. is running for U.S. Senate in Illinois in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. He is certified for the ballot under the American Center Party. Don Tracy (Republican) and Juliana Stratton (Democratic) are also running. The seat carries a six-year term and a vote on federal legislation, judicial confirmations and treaties.

Asked why he is seeking office, Harrington said in our candidate questionnaire: "Washington is broken and both parties helped break it. Illinois families are paying more for everything and getting less. I am running as an independent to govern from the center, not the extremes, and to help build the American Center Party."

Candidate information

Party affiliation: Harrington said in our questionnaire: "I am an independent. I am running as an independent candidate for the United States Senate in Illinois while helping to form the American Center Party, a new party dedicated to practical, center-focused leadership."

Family: Harrington said in our questionnaire: "I was born and raised in Belzoni, Mississippi, in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, the 20th of 21 children. … My father was a pastor and a carpenter who also cut hair, farmed, and drove a school bus to feed 21 children. He chaired the Humphreys County NAACP for seven years, taking the post after the first chairman was assassinated and the second was shot."

Education: Harrington said in our questionnaire: "I earned my degree in political science from Delta State University in Mississippi …" BallotReady lists a high school diploma from Humphrey High School.

Family in government: Asked whether anyone in his family works in politics or government, Harrington said: "No one in my family holds elected or appointed government office, and no one in my family has worked as a lobbyist."

Experience and public service

Harrington said in our questionnaire: "I serve as a pastor in Chicago, a ministry that reaches people across states, countries, and continents. Before that I worked in the financial industry, inside banks and insurance companies. I later ran my own insurance practice."

Asked about previous elected office, Harrington said: "I have never held elected or appointed public office. … My only experience in an elected role came in 1997, when the American Legion's Boys State program elected me Governor of Mississippi Boys State."

On the issues

Cost of living (top priority): Harrington said in our questionnaire that his first bill would be a Family Affordability Act. He said it would require banks to offer small-dollar mortgages for homes under $100,000, ban excessive speculation in energy markets, end tariffs on food and make the first year of community college free. "It would be paid for by reprioritizing existing federal spending, including recovering the billions lost to fraud each year, not by raising taxes on working families," Harrington said.

Health care: Harrington said: "I support Direct Primary Care, where you pay your doctor a low monthly fee, sometimes as little as $100 for an individual or $300 for a family, for unlimited visits with no insurance middleman and no surprise bills. … My plan forgives student loans for doctors who open Direct Primary Care clinics in underserved communities, urban and rural …"

Federal spending and debt: Harrington said: "I would redirect ten to twenty percent of the defense budget, on a two-year cycle, into rebuilding our own infrastructure, bases, roads, bridges, rails, the power grid, and strategic stockpiles. … I would create a Cabinet-level anti-fraud department to recover the estimated $233 billion to $521 billion lost to fraud every year …"

Immigration: Harrington said: "Secure the border with whatever each sector needs, meaning manpower, technology, and physical barriers where they work. Deport criminals. End family separations. … Make legal immigration easier than illegal entry, because today the opposite is true."

National security: Harrington said: "No American troops should deploy without a clear mission, a clear cost, and a clear exit plan voted on by Congress. … Our allies in Europe and the region should carry the stronger voice and the heavier share of their own defense."

Judicial appointments: Harrington said: "I would vote on qualifications, character, and fidelity to the Constitution, not on party. … I would also support the conversation on term limits or age limits for justices and judges, because lifetime appointments should not turn every election into a fight over the future of the judiciary."

Candidate responses were collected through the Lake Forest Journal's candidate questionnaire. All policy positions and biographical claims are attributed to the candidate.