Anthony Barnes
Anthony Barnes (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Illinois' 15th Congressional District. He will not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on March 17, 2026.
Barnes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Anthony Barnes was born in Long Beach, California. Barnes' career experience includes working as a technology professional. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Illinois Institute of Art, Chicago in 2012. Barnes has been affiliated with Morgan County, Illinois Democrats.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Illinois' 15th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 15
Paul Davis, Kyle Nudo, Randy Raley, and Jennifer Todd are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 15 on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Paul Davis  | |
 | Kyle Nudo | |
 | Randy Raley | |
 | Jennifer Todd | |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Anthony Barnes (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 15
Incumbent Mary Miller, Judy Bowlby, and Ryan Tebrugge are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 15 on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Mary Miller | |
| Judy Bowlby | ||
| Ryan Tebrugge | ||
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
To view Barnes's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Anthony Barnes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Barnes' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I have spent my life advocating to anyone who would listen about how much I LOVE Central Illinois' hospitality, nature and closeness to so much of America!
My formative years were spent in Jacksonville, Illinois, playing soccer, adventuring in Boy Scouts, learning leadership as Class President, and building lifetime relationships which bless me still. College took me to Chicago, then work to Madison, Wisconsin, and a major career move even dragged me out to Los Angeles, California. But through all the moves and jobs and meeting new people, one thing was always made clear to me:
"Anthony, you are aggressively Midwestern!" - Everyone
I take pride in knowing that how I live my life always leads back to my roots here in Central Illinois. The year 2021 provided me with the opportunity to move back to Jacksonville, where I could live and work close to everyone I had missed so much. Nothing beats living where you want to be. =)
Now, I want to give back to Central Illinois by representing YOU AND YOURS, to ensure that our lives flourish and to show more people that IL-15 is the place to be!- Modernizing Education
Public schooling MUST be made more agile to ensure it prepares our children for adulthood. Those who choose college, trade schools or no additional education must ALL be able to trust they have a reliable place in our country’s rapidly-changing future.
For deeper insights, see more of my Platform here: https://www.anthonybarnesforcongress.com/platform - Employment & Business Protections Workers need stability in their employment and businesses need to be protected against volatile politics. I will foster legislation that makes pragmatic and long term considerations for its impact on IL-15 workers and businesses alike. For deeper insights, see more of my Platform here: https://www.anthonybarnesforcongress.com/platform
- Government Spending Accountability Why are our taxes mandatory, but the government’s delivery on their promises not? I will hold program leaders to the promises they make both in outcome and budget. For deeper insights, see more of my Platform here: https://www.anthonybarnesforcongress.com/platform
AI regulation for the sake of the workers, companies, and industries that OpenAI and beyond stole from to create models that are putting those same victims out of work.
Both men embodied an openness to people, the world, and our collective experience of it together. Down to earth and realistic, they made sure to use their platforms to spend time with everyday folks in the ways that they live their everyday lives. Both men had wealth and influence available to them yet didn't hoard it or hide away. They made the act of elevating normal people's experiences central to their work, exactly as a Representative should.
True leadership considers the knock-on effects of their decisions' impacts on people AFTER the politician is out of office. The world cannot turn on a dime, so humility is necessary to build lasting good for your constituents.
You are not there for your career, to write a book or anything else. Reps are in office for only 2 years guaranteed, so they need to be prepared to sacrifice all else in their life for that time period to DEDICATE to their constituents.
I was already growing up on the internet and building computers from scratch, so it was both absurd to think that the crash could happen, but even more so that our systems were designed with such an obvious flaw in it.
Had that for a few years until I was qualified to work part time at KFC.
Its story illustrates how powerful technology can make a society become complacent and insular due to the comfort and ease-of-life provided by it. Next the population becomes used to the comforts and thus less willing and able to give them up. Once contentedness sets in, powerful governments and interest groups can execute deplorable actions against whoever they want without worrying that the general public will notice or care.
His extended lifespan and caring demeanor allow him to live long enough to see the larger impacts of action AND inaction. Leaders must be able to see beyond their own terms in order to make LASTING impacts.
Among federal appointees and elected positions, House Representatives are the least abstracted from their people. A Rep for Beardstown and a rep for Chicago inherently must focus on different needs. Understanding the day to day way of life in your district is critical to discerning polling data.
Representatives SHOULD BE the most plucked-off-the-street version of a politician. Those who can effortlessly understand what their people love, hate, or don't understand are TRUE representatives.
International cooperation and competition are both at their peak right now, and while idyllic cooperation would be preferred we must enhance our own national capacity. The USA's economic outsourcing is proving once again how much time it costs to spin up or revitalize industries here at home. Outsourcing should be augmentative, not wholesale replacement.
Our world rapidly evolves, twists, and turns due to the speed of technology innovation. Just look at AI's rapid ascent and integration to all aspects of our economy and society. If a rep doesn't understand it, how can they legislate or regulate it?
However it's important to recognize the value of experienced individuals. Each elected position should also OBLIGATE you to return to your constituent area to dedicate an ADDITIONAL year of cultivating new and aspiring politicians.
I don't have those reservations, so I will act and speak as they would: for the locals' needs first.
Farmers are hurting, careers are stalling, and infrastructure is suffering YET Mary Miller is always the first thing off of people's lips. A Representative has no reason to be so absent. What's more is her divisive language leaving local LGBTQ youth groups fearful, Democratic voices feeling silenced, and a general wonder of why she won't bring federal dollars down to the local level?
Currently US citizens have nearly zero recourse when a bill or project doesn't go according to plan, most often due to the lack of specificity in law about how to react to: budget overages, timeline delays and changing political will.
We citizens hear constant bickering about oversight committees this, and topical communities that but what we don't get is our reps coming DIRECTLY TO US. They only hold these positions of power because WE THE PEOPLE voted them in. Some information may need to be kept exclusive for national security, sure. But a proactive effort to alleviate the general feeling of being shut out from "closed door discussions" needs to end in order to rebuild trust in our politicians at large.
It's memorable because who can forget something that is repeated time and TIME again across the spectrum of political alignment. Representatives make OVER 2x the median HOUSEHOLD income for IL-15 residents, how is appreciation shown for being given such a cushy and safe lifestyle? Mary Miller isn't hurting for money but a plurality of IL-15 residents are, from power bills to taxes and services.
I worked hard, studied, and practiced the skills and knowledge needed to earn my award but I did NOT do it alone. My parents, my pack leaders, and all the other Cub Scouts supported me and collectively empowered me to succeed. Proving it could be done, that children just like me to distinguish themselves through hard work and study is why I'm so proud.
So much of social mobility and recognition requires courage and willpower, but it all starts with inspiration!
I don't know if those boys remember me anymore, and that's ok because I was able to pay forward the sort of support, inspiration, and proof positive that it CAN be done which I received from the Scouts before me.
If for no other reason the government NEEDS to communicate the imperative danger that is fake news and believable fake sources. The general citizenry is consistently behind on understanding new technology and this one carries MANY existential threats to basic communication.
Mail-in ballots for all with a hard deadline for mailing well prior to election day.
All citizens automatically registered to vote with responsibility to ensure their own data changes are communicated to the government.
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
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.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House Illinois District 15 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 12, 2025
