Tag: Senate Endorsements

CIVPAC Provisionally Endorses Annie Andrews in South Carolina Senate Race

CIVPAC provisional endorsement of Annie Andrews in the 2026 South Carolina U.S. Senate race

CIVPAC has published its evaluation of South Carolina’s 2026 U.S. Senate race and provisionally endorsed Democrat Annie Andrews over Republican Senator Darline Graham, Libertarian Kasie Whitener and Constitution Party candidate Mark Hackett.

This is not an endorsement without reservations.

Andrews is closer to our positions on reproductive freedom, immigration, evidence-based public health and congressional war powers. We also give substantial weight at this point to congressional independence and the value of divided government as a check on executive power.

At the same time, Andrews is to our left on much of domestic economic policy. We have reservations about the size and role of government implicit in parts of her agenda, including important unanswered questions about the design of her proposed public health-insurance option.

Our largest uncertainty concerns foreign policy. Andrews has made clear that she opposes open-ended wars and believes Congress should authorize sustained military action, but we have found much less from her on Ukraine, NATO, Russia, China and the broader international order.

Graham receives substantial credit for taking over the Russia and Iran sanctions legislation championed by her late brother, Senator Lindsey Graham, and helping carry it into law. But her limited foreign-policy preparation, her pledge to have President Trump’s back “100 percent,” and her vote against allowing an Iran War Powers resolution to proceed raise questions about congressional independence.

Whitener offers a strongly market-oriented and fiscally restrained alternative and has been unusually clear in challenging unilateral presidential war-making. Questions remain about what her noninterventionist approach would mean for NATO, Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel.

Hackett is clearer: he advocates ending U.S. support for Ukraine and Israel and withdrawing from NATO and the United Nations—positions fundamentally at odds with our approach to American foreign policy.

For now, the combination of divided government, congressional independence, reproductive freedom, immigration and public health tips our evaluation toward Andrews.

The endorsement is deliberately provisional. Andrews, Graham and Whitener are scheduled to participate in the October 11 South Carolina ETV debate, and we intend to review the endorsement afterward. In particular, we will be listening for clearer answers from Andrews on Ukraine and NATO, from Graham on congressional independence, and from Whitener on the practical implications of her foreign-policy philosophy.

Read the full South Carolina U.S. Senate evaluation and provisional endorsement.

See all CIVPAC 2026 Senate endorsements and evaluations.

CIVPAC Completes Its Review of the 2026 U.S. Senate Races

CIVPAC completes review of every 2026 U.S. Senate race with Oregon endorsement of Jeff Merkley

CIVPAC has published its evaluation of the 2026 U.S. Senate race in Oregon, completing its review of every Senate general-election race this year.

The Oregon evaluation endorses Democratic incumbent Jeff Merkley over Republican David Brock Smith, Libertarian Gary Dye and Progressive/Pacific Green candidate Chris Henry.

This is not an endorsement based on broad agreement with Merkley’s domestic agenda. The evaluation identifies substantial differences over Medicare for All, labor policy, wealth taxation and the use of government direction rather than market mechanisms to address climate change.

There are also important areas of agreement. Merkley has strongly supported Ukraine and has been an active advocate of Congress reclaiming its constitutional authority over decisions involving war. The evaluation also finds substantial common ground on democratic institutions and parts of Middle East policy. Merkley

Brock Smith is closer to CIVPAC on several economic and regulatory questions. But the evaluation raises concerns about climate change, the effort to challenge the 2020 election results, voting policy and abortion. OPB has reported both his rejection of human contributions to climate change and his participation in the 2020 Texas election challenge. (OPB) opb

His relationship with President Trump is also important to the evaluation. Willamette Week described Brock Smith as an outspoken Trump supporter and reported that, when asked whether he disagreed with anything Trump had done during his second term, he did not identify an example. CIVPAC was also unable to find sufficiently clear positions from him on tariffs, Ukraine, NATO or the Iran war. (Willamette Week) Willamette Week

In the end, the value of divided government tipped the balance. The Oregon evaluation argues that congressional checks on executive authority work less effectively when members of Congress are unwilling to challenge a president of their own party. For this moment, that consideration favors returning Merkley to the Senate. The endorsement is explicitly conditional: if the White House were occupied by a Democrat, particularly one well to the left of center, Merkley would probably not receive CIVPAC’s endorsement.

Read the full Oregon U.S. Senate evaluation and endorsement.

See all CIVPAC 2026 Senate endorsements and evaluations.

With the Oregon review, CIVPAC has now reviewed every 2026 U.S. Senate general-election race. We have published endorsements in 26 races, including Alaska, published evaluations without an endorsement in 3, and have 6 completed drafts still under review and awaiting publication.

That completes the research stage of the Senate project. The races will continue to be followed, and evaluations or endorsements can be revisited if significant new information warrants it.

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.