Candidates Outline Priorities in 2026 Races

Candidates in several competitive 2026 races are emphasizing affordability and their approaches to governing. In Illinois, Democratic Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Republican Don Tracy and American Center Party candidate Whitfield Harrington Jr. are seeking to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin: Stratton supports a $25 federal minimum wage, Medicare for all and a pathway to citizenship; Tracy emphasizes inflation and cost-of-living concerns and says immigration changes are needed; Harrington backs centrist leadership, lower food costs, free first-year community college and says immigration enforcement has gone too far. In Kansas, Democratic Senate challenger Adam Hamilton blamed tariffs and the Iran war for higher costs and called for ending both, restoring health insurance subsidies and reversing Medicaid cuts; incumbent Republican Roger Marshall did not respond to the newspaper’s questionnaire. In Montana’s state Senate District 6, a questionnaire respondent opposed a proposed flat income tax and supported property-tax relief, including a circuit breaker, while incumbent Mark Noland did not respond. In Kentucky’s 45th House District, incumbent Adam Moore faces former representative Killian Timoney in a closely contested seat that has changed party hands in recent years.