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Whitfield Harrington Jr.
American Center candidate for United States Senator, Illinois · Open seat
Pastor in Chicago; formerly worked in banking and insurance and ran his own insurance practice
Whitfield Harrington Jr. is a Chicago pastor who grew up in Belzoni, Mississippi, and now lives in Schaumburg. He founded the American Center Party as a state party and filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections on May 26, 2026, as its U.S. Senate candidate. He is running for the open seat held by retiring Sen. Dick Durbin, against Democrat Juliana Stratton and Republican Don Tracy.
Where Jr. stands
- Cost of living
- Says his first bill would be a Family Affordability Act. It would require 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, without raising taxes on working families.
- Health care
- Supports Direct Primary Care, where patients pay a doctor a monthly fee for unlimited visits with no insurance middleman. He says he has used it himself.
- Immigration
- Supports securing the border with manpower, technology and physical barriers where they work, and deporting criminals. Supports ending family separations and making legal immigration easier than illegal entry.
- Immigration enforcement (ICE)
- Supports immigration enforcement, but says ICE must be reined in when its conduct is excessive.
- Federal spending
- Proposes moving 10–20% of the defense budget, on a two-year cycle, into U.S. infrastructure. Also proposes a Cabinet-level anti-fraud department to recover money he says is lost to fraud each year.
- National security
- Says no American troops should deploy without a clear mission, cost and exit plan voted on by Congress.
- Abortion
- Supports abortion rights.
- Guns
- Supports background checks for gun purchases.
- Education
- Supports school choice and making the first year of community college free.
- Two-party system
- Says Washington is broken and both parties helped break it. He is running outside both major parties to build a center-focused party that draws people from the left and the right.
Background
- Pastor in Chicago (current)
- Ran his own insurance practice; earlier worked at banks and insurance companies
- Has never held public office (elected Governor of Mississippi Boys State in 1997)
- B.A. in political science, Delta State University (Mississippi)
- Founder of the American Center Party (Illinois state party)
- Born and raised in Belzoni, Mississippi
In the news
- Whitfield Harrington Jr. seeks to bring Illinoisans back to the center as third party candidate for U.S. Senate IPM Newsroom, October 22, 2026
- Our Chicago: Race for U.S. Senate in Illinois ABC7 Chicago, October 11, 2026
- Harrington seeks Illinois U.S. Senate seat as independent North Shore Weekly, October 8, 2026
- Who is running for U.S. Senate in Illinois in the 2026 general election? CBS News Chicago, September 28, 2026
Also running for United States Senator
- Juliana Stratton Democratic
- Don Tracy Republican
Sources
- North Shore Weekly candidate questionnaire profile
- CBS News Chicago Senate race guide
- ABC7 Chicago interview
- WILL 21st Show interview
- IPM Newsroom
- Campaign website
- CandidateAlerts (cites ISBE filing record)
Last researched October 22, 2026. Written in neutral language from the sources above. Spot an error? See how to report it.