West Virginia Democratic Senate nominee?
$50.9K
MAY 19, 2026
Primary Election
Party selects its nominee.
Overview
Current roleMedia and marketing entrepreneur
Political ideologyProgressive Democrat
LocationWest Virginia
BackgroundMedia and marketing entrepreneur
Notable personal detailsRio Phillips is a candidate for U.S. Senate in West Virginia in the 2026 election cycle and has filed federal candidacy paperwork with the FEC. He has described his professional background as media and marketing entrepreneurship, including work for companies in cybersecurity, insurance, and hospitality. He has also described having a long history of advocacy and community organizing and moving to West Virginia in 2020.
SourcesShowHide
Positions
Economy & Taxes
The candidate’s public platform emphasizes expanded social programs (Medicare for All, $20 minimum wage, paid family leave, canceling medical debt and student loans), reductions in military spending to reinvest domestically, and measures to attract investment (a corporate tax incentive program). The campaign materials do not include a clear, explicit statement about raising or lowering federal tax rates on high-income individuals or corporations, producing a mixed or unclear position on tax changes.
Healthcare
Supports Medicare for All and a broad expansion of public healthcare access, including lower prescription drug costs, protecting rural hospitals, and dramatically expanded mental-health services. Also calls to cancel medical debt and expand social services.
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Climate & Energy
The candidate identifies as a progressive and lists "climate justice" and clean water among campaign priorities, supporting expanded clean-energy and environmental protections as part of a broader progressive platform. The campaign frames these goals within working-class economic and public-health priorities rather than specifying aggressive fossil-fuel phase-out timelines or explicit Green New Deal legislation.
Public Safety & Guns
The candidate identifies as pro-Second Amendment and states strong support for legal, safe, and responsible gun ownership. The platform emphasizes constitutional defense and upholding gun ownership rights without proposing major new firearm restrictions.
News
Rio Phillips is in the news mainly because of West Virginia legislation that would expand medical conscience protections, letting healthcare providers refuse certain services on religious or moral grounds. The bills could affect care such as contraception, fertility treatment, and vaccines, and they have drawn criticism from opponents who say they could limit patient access. Separate recent reporting also notes a Justice Department lawsuit involving West Virginia over voter registration lists, but Phillips’s direct role in that issue is not clear from the summaries.
Fundraising
Latest report: Cycle 20262026
LatestCycle 2026
Source: FEC
New updates coming soon
We're monitoring and will update when new data impacts the race.
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