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Meet the candidates running for Illinois' open Senate seat

WVIK, Quad Cities NPR | By Brady Johnson
Published October 29, 2026 at 10:41 AM CDT
Democrat Juilana Stratton, Republican Don Tracy, and American Center Party candidate Whitfield Harrington Jr.
Democrat Juilana Stratton, Republican Don Tracy, and American Center Party candidate Whitfield Harrington Jr.

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin is not seeking re-election. Republican Don Tracy, American Center Party candidate Whitfield Harrington Jr., and Democrat Juliana Stratton are vying for the open seat. WVIK spoke with two of the candidates.

Editor's Note: WVIK was unable to schedule a 30-minute interview with Democratic Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton. Below are the full interviews with Don Tracy and Whitfield Harrington Jr.

Whitfield Harrington Jr interview 1008.mp3
Don Tracy interview 1016.mp3
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Brady Johnson
Brady is a 2021 Augustana College graduate majoring in Multimedia Journalism-Mass Communication and Political Science. Over the last eight years, he has reported in central Illinois at various media outlets, including The Peoria Journal Star, WCBU Peoria Public Radio, Advanced Media Partners, and WGLT Bloomington-Normal's Public Media.
See stories by Brady Johnson