Rio Phillips

Rio Phillips

Democratic Party

Candidate, U.S. Senate West Virginia

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 3, 2026

Personal

Birthplace

Waynesboro, Va.

Profession

Community organizer

Contact

Campaign website

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Campaign TikTok

Rio Phillips (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. Senate to represent West Virginia. He declared candidacy for the general election scheduled on November 3, 2026.^[source]

Phillips completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Rio Phillips was born in Waynesboro, Virginia. He earned a high school diploma from the Pine View School for the Gifted and attended the University of Central Florida, Erie Community College, and Buffalo State College. Phillips' professional experience includes owning a media and marketing business, working as a Medicare insurance agent, and in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence optimization.

Elections

2026

See also: United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. Senate West Virginia

The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. Senate West Virginia on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Shelley Moore Capito (R)
		Rio Phillips (D)
		Zachary Shrewsbury (D)
		Derrick Evans (R)
		Alexander Gaaserud (R)
		Tom Willis (R)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Endorsements

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Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Rio Phillips completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Phillips' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I go by the name Rio, so I’d want my Ballotpedia listing to reflect my nickname not my legal one. I am a Progressive Working Class Democrat running for the U.S. Senate from West Virginia. I am running to lift this state out of poverty and pull the greedy fingers of billionaires off this state.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Working Class People Need Working Class Leaders
• Any Incumbent That Can’t Hold A Town Hall Is Unworthy To Hold Office (Shelley Moore Capito)
• Restoration of the Rule of Law (Due Process, Habeas Corpus, etc)

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Inflating and securing social services for marginalized people, building a prosperous West Virginia for everyone, a competitive and inviting West Virginia

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Bernie Sanders, for his commitment to working class liberal values, for his consistency on multiple subjects, from wealth inequality to Gaza, to billionaires and more.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The 13th Amendment actually legalized slavery through its Exception Clause, and is the basis for the Private Prison Industrial Complex, and until we pull out this exception clause, slavery is the legal system

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Transparency, honesty, diplomacy, consistency, morality

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Strong under fire, transparent, clean zero felony record, ability to communicate with marginalized communities, expansive vision for poor folk and even the unhoused, the ability to hold corruption’s feet to the fire

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Listening, facing the people, being diplomatic and inclusive, caring about all constituents

What legacy would you like to leave?

One of service to the people, a legacy of being able to always look folks in the face and confidently lead with honesty and brutal truth sometimes if necessary, a legacy of radical transparency never seen before in Washington DC, a noncorporate legacy

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

First major historical event was being 11 and witnessing George Bush Sr go to war in Iraq for the first time!

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Bussing at a golf club! At least a year!

What is your favorite book? Why?

“Secret Teachings of All Ages” Manly P Hall, because it is a vast tome of powerful knowledge

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Robert Langdon from the Dan Brown book series

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

“We’re the Middle of a Hostile Government Takeover”

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Poverty for sure! Three economic collapses in my adulthood have made success elusive! While I’ve tasted success at different times, it’s been quite difficult. I am truly working class!

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Loss of jobs to AI, the push for undemocratic monarchy, the political polarization, the rich getting richer while poor gets poorer, the dwindling middle class

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Now! More! Congressional! Supreme Court!

What qualities does the U.S. Senate possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Checks and balances on executive power! The ability to promote sweeping legislation that would help the entire nation.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for senators to have previous experience in government or politics?

No. In fact, we need working class people overcoming their fears and learning the skills required to lead. The old ways have failed.

What do you think of the filibuster?

Usually just grandstanding after all other forms of resistance to legislation have failed, but still an important component.

Is there a particular senator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Bernie Sanders of course!

Tell us your favorite joke.

Trump is a Christian.

How would you evaluate a judicial nominee?

Integrity, objectivity, nonpolitical, transparency, consistency

What kind of relationships would you build with other senators?

Diplomatic, friendly, productive, active substantial relationships to accomplish serious tasks

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

One hundred percent it is

How should the U.S. Senate use its investigative powers?

Release the Epstein files, shut down unconstitutional concentration camps

What criteria would you apply when deciding whether to confirm presidential appointees to their Cabinet?

Morality, transparency, conflicts of interest are the most important criteria beyond all else

What committees interest you?

Budgetary, Intelligence

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

We need more and more! Audit the Pentagon! Audit the Fed! We need Constitutional enforcement for government officials! Term limits!

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Rio Phillips campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. Senate West Virginia	Candidacy Declared general	$0	N/A**
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

2026 Elections

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Candidate

U.S. Senate West Virginia

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Footnotes

[show]

West Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Shelley Capito (R)

Jim Justice (R)

Representatives

District 1

Carol Miller (R)

District 2

Riley Moore (R)

Republican Party (4)