Tag: Senate Endorsements

CIVPAC Endorses Juliana Stratton for U.S. Senate in Illinois

Centrist Independent Voter endorsement graphic for Juliana Stratton for U.S. Senate in Illinois in 2026, featuring the U.S. Capitol and Illinois flag in a purple-and-white design.

CIVPAC has endorsed Juliana Stratton in Illinois’s 2026 U.S. Senate election.

The decision follows our review of Stratton, Republican Don Tracy, and American Center Party candidate Whitfield Harrington Jr. The race presents a difficult tradeoff between foreign policy, democratic institutions and the appropriate role of government in the economy.

Stratton is substantially closer to CIVPAC on several issues that have become increasingly important in our 2026 evaluations. She supports continued assistance to Ukraine, a strong NATO alliance, congressional checks on presidential war-making and greater restraint in the use of tariffs. She would also provide an independent partisan check on the Trump administration.

Our reservations about Stratton are substantial. Her domestic agenda includes Medicare for All, a $25 federal minimum wage and abolition of ICE. Those proposals would significantly expand the federal role in the economy and, in the case of Medicare for All, create major unanswered questions about financing.

Don Tracy is considerably closer to CIVPAC on conventional economic policy, health-care markets, regulation and the scale of government. He also supports NATO and Ukraine’s right to defend itself. But his greater willingness to defer to President Trump on war powers and tariffs, along with his support for pardons of January 6 defendants, raises questions about the degree of institutional independence he would bring to the Senate.

We also reviewed Whitfield Harrington Jr., who presents himself as a pragmatic centrist. His platform contains some interesting ideas, but his public record remains too limited on foreign policy, presidential power, immigration, fiscal policy and major social issues to evaluate him alongside the major-party candidates with confidence.

With Illinois voting beginning September 24, we concluded that the choice could no longer be deferred. Given the available record—and CIVPAC’s preference for divided government as a check on executive overreach—we endorsed Juliana Stratton.

Readers interested in the details can read our full Illinois U.S. Senate evaluation and endorsement.

Our other 2026 endorsements and evaluations are collected on our 2026 endorsements page.

CIVPAC Endorses Everett W. Wess for U.S. Senate in Alabama

CIVPAC endorsement graphic for Everett W. Wess for U.S. Senate in Alabama in 2026, featuring the U.S. Capitol framed by an outline of Alabama in a purple-and-white design, with Centrist Independent Voter branding.

CIVPAC has endorsed Everett W. Wess in Alabama’s 2026 U.S. Senate election.

The decision follows our review of Wess, Republican Congressman Barry Moore, and independent candidate Craig Jelks. Each presents a very different record, and our endorsement of Wess comes with reservations about gaps in his public positions.

Wess brings an unusually varied professional background. Before practicing law, he spent many years working in information technology. He subsequently practiced law for more than two decades and served as a municipal judge. We were particularly interested in his emphasis on constitutional government, congressional responsibility, political stability and the possibility of working constructively across party lines.

At the same time, Wess has not yet developed detailed public positions on several issues important to CIVPAC. We would like to know considerably more about his views on fiscal policy, energy, immigration and especially American foreign policy, including continued support for Ukraine and NATO.

We also considered independent Craig Jelks. Jelks has taken positions on tariffs, federal deficits, congressional war powers and political independence that reflect well on him. His candidacy nevertheless raises significant unanswered questions. His cultural conservatism differs from CIVPAC’s generally libertarian approach to personal issues, his comments suggesting that the United States is overly focused on foreign affairs give us concern about possible retrenchment, and he has not explained which party he would caucus with in the Senate. Nor has he yet demonstrated a substantial statewide electoral constituency.

Our greatest concerns involve Barry Moore’s established record. Moore continues to associate himself with claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, strongly identifies his Senate candidacy with President Trump, opposed the 2026 Ukraine Support Act, and supports the administration’s broad use of tariffs. Those positions conflict with several priorities that have become increasingly important in CIVPAC’s evaluations: respect for democratic institutions, an independent Congress, support for Ukraine and skepticism toward protectionism.

Readers interested in the details can read our full Alabama Senate evaluation and endorsement of Everett Wess.

Our other endorsements and evaluations for the 2026 elections are collected on our 2026 endorsements page.