Whitfield Harrington Jr. is running for U.S. Senate in Illinois as an independent candidate helping to build the American Center Party.

He faces Don Tracy, a Republican, and Juliana Stratton, a Democrat, in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.

Asked why he is running, 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."

Candidate information

Party affiliation: Harrington said in our questionnaire: "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. I am not a Democrat and not a Republican."

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."

Experience and public service

Harrington said he has never held public office. He said in our questionnaire: "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 his work history, 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."

On the issues

Cost of living: Harrington said in our questionnaire: "I would introduce a Family Affordability Act as my first bill. It would require banks to make small-dollar mortgages available for homes under $100,000 with the commission rolled into the loan, 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 … not by raising taxes on working families."

Health care: Harrington said in our questionnaire: "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. I have had Direct Primary Care myself, at $75 a month, and it works."

Federal spending: Harrington said in our questionnaire: "I would redirect ten to twenty percent of the defense budget, on a two-year cycle, into rebuilding our own infrastructure … 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 in our questionnaire: "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."

National security: Harrington said in our questionnaire: "No American troops should deploy without a clear mission, a clear cost, and a clear exit plan voted on by Congress."

What sets him apart: Harrington said in our questionnaire: "I am the only candidate in this race who is not owned by either party. … I bring the perspective of the family at the kitchen table, not the country club."

Candidate responses were collected through our candidate questionnaire and the candidate's campaign website. Answers have been excerpted for length. All policy positions and biographical claims are attributed to the candidate.