{{AFC submission|d|bio|u=Joffejs|ns=118|decliner=Theroadislong|declinets=20220119084331|ts=20220119065502}} <!-- Do not remove this line! -->

{{Short description|Biography of Ricky Dale Harrington Jr., U.S. Senate candidate in Arkansas in 2020 }}

{{Draft topics|biography|north-america|politics-and-government}}

{{AfC topic|blp}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Ricky Dale Harrington Jr.

| image name = [[File:Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. in Springdale (crop 2).jpg|thumb|Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. in Springdale (crop 2)]]

| birth_place = [[Marshall, TX]], U.S.

| party = [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]]

| occupation = Prison Chaplain, Hospital Consultant, and University Teacher<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.rickyharrington.com/ | title = Ricky Harrington for Governor}}</ref>

| education = [[Kilgore College]], [[Harding University]], Bachelor's of Ministry

Ricky Harrington Jr. is a [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]] politician, current candidate in the [[2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election]] and former candidate the [[2020 United States Senate election in Arkansas]].

He was born in Marshall, Texas. He attended Jefferson High School and then pursued higher education at Kilgore College, Sunset International Bible Institute, and Harding University for his undergraduate education. He earned a bachelor's degree from Harding University in May 2012.<ref>https://ballotpedia.org/Ricky_Dale_Harrington_Jr.</ref> His professional experience includes working in the oil and gas industry and in food service, as a crisis prevention technician at a psychiatric hospital, as a missionary, and in a correctional system.

== Political Career ==

Harrington ran for U.S. Senate in 2020 against incumbent U.S. Senator [[Tom Cotton]]. In public comments leading up to the 2020 election, Harrington spoke about excessive partisanship in the election process itself and in Senate operations, such as the contentious [[Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court nomination|nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Staff|first=Talk Business & Politics|title=Libertarian Senate candidate Ricky Harrington calls for end to hyper-partisanship|url=https://talkbusiness.net/2020/09/libertarian-senate-candidate-ricky-harrington-calls-for-end-to-hyper-partisanship/|publisher=Talk Business & Politics|date=September 27, 2020|access-date=October 14, 2020}}</ref> Cotton declined to attend a debate hosted by [[Arkansas PBS]], leaving Harrington as the sole participant. Harrington spent the debate responding to questions put to him by a panel of journalists.<ref>{{cite web|last=Boehm|first=Eric|title=Tom Cotton won't debate his Libertarian challenger. The event will happen anyway.|url=https://reason.com/2020/10/12/tom-cotton-wont-debate-his-libertarian-challenger-the-event-will-happen-anyway/|publisher=Reason Foundation|date=October 12, 2020|access-date=October 14, 2020}}</ref><ref name="PBS debate summary">{{cite web |last1=Roberts |first1=Adam |title=Harrington, challenging Cotton, appears solo in Arkansas PBS debate |url=https://www.4029tv.com/article/harrington-challenging-cotton-appears-solo-in-arkansas-pbs-debate/34374062 |website=40/29 News |access-date=15 October 2020 |date=14 October 2020}}</ref> He was endorsed by [[Justin Amash]], [[Jo Jorgensen]], and [[Spike Cohen]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2020/10/17/congressman-endorses-ricky-harrington-for-u-s-senate|title=Congressman endorses Ricky Harrington for U.S. Senate|first=Max|last=Brantley|date=October 17, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|user=RealSpikeCohen|number=1315419506399944717|title=Donate to Ricky Harrington for his race against Tom Cotton. This is an absolutely winnable race for Arkansas Senate!|date=October 11, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|user=Jorgensen4POTUS|number=1316470144877592577|title=The Arkansas Senate debate is live now...Tom Cotton refused to participate, there is no Democrat running, and Libertarian candidate Ricky Dale Harrington @RickyForSenate has the stage to himself. #Election2020|date=October 14, 2020}}</ref>

Though he lost the election, Harrington's 33.5% finish is the best ever for a Libertarian candidate in a U.S. Senate election by vote percentage, surpassing the previous record set four years prior in [[2016 United States Senate election in Alaska|Alaska]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-11-07|title=Cotton win good news, say parties of two rivals|url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/nov/07/cotton-win-good-news-say-parties-two-rivals/|access-date=2021-02-25|website=Arkansas Online|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-11-20|title=Joe Miller Shatters Libertarian US Senate Record While 8 Others Set New State Party Marks|url=https://smartpolitics.lib.umn.edu/2016/11/20/joe-miller-shatters-libertarian-us-senate-record-while-8-others-set-new-state-party-marks/|access-date=2021-02-25|website=Smart Politics|language=en-US}}</ref> and also by total number of votes (399,390, surpassing the previous record of 369,807 set by Michael Cloud in [[2002 United States Senate election in Massachusetts|Massachusetts in 2002]]). Per exit polls, this largely appears to be due to many Democrats deciding to pick Harrington as there was no Democratic candidate on the ballot (82% of Democratic voters backed Harrington).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Voter Analysis |first1=Fox News |title=Fox News Voter Analysis Survey, Arkansas Senate Race |url=https://www.foxnews.com/elections/2020/general-results/voter-analysis?race=S&state=AR |website=Fox News |access-date=2 May 2021}}</ref> Harrington won three counties, all of which were also won by Democratic presidential nominee [[Joe Biden]].

Harrington is running for governor in the [[2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election]].<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/may/02/libertarian-at-work-getting-signatures-to-run-for/ | title = Libertarian at Work Getting Signatures to Run for Governor}}</ref>

== References ==

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