{{Short description|U.S. Senate candidate in Arkansas in 2020}}

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{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Ricky Dale Harrington Jr.

| image = Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. in Springdale (crop 2).jpg

| caption = Harrington in Springdale

| birth_place = [[Marshall, Texas]], 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

| children = 3

'''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]]. A Pine Bluff pastor, Harrington has served as a missionary in Scotland, China and elsewhere, and as a chaplain and treatment coordinator at the Arkansas Department of Corrections’ Cummins Unit.<ref>uatrav.com/lifestyles/article_7e587380-1cb3-11eb-9703-a33d07d7e194.html</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.armoneyandpolitics.com/ricky-dale-harrington-jr-takes-a-leap-of-faith-with-u-s-senate-run/ | title = Ricky Hale Harrington Jr. Takes a Leap of Faith with U.S. Senate Run| date = 23 October 2020}}</ref>

== Personal life ==

He was born in Marshall, Texas. His father, Ricky Dale Harrington Sr., was a corrections officer, and his mother was a nurse.<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://reason.com/2020/07/31/tom-cottons-only-challenger-is-a-black-libertarian-prison-chaplain/ | title = Tom Cotton's Only Challenger Is a Black Libertarian Prison Chaplain| date = 31 July 2020}}</ref>

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>{{Cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Ricky_Dale_Harrington_Jr.|title = 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<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ricky Harrington for Governor|url=https://www.rickyharrington.com/|access-date=January 25, 2022|website=Ricky Harrington for Governor}}</ref>

Ricky resides in Pine Bluff. His wife, Chujie, is active duty US Navy. Together they have three children, two of whom are autistic.<ref>https://www.rickyharrington.com/</ref>

== 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 30, 2020|title=Arkansas Election Results|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-arkansas.html|archive-date=January 25, 2022|access-date=January 25, 2022|website=New York Times}}</ref>

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 ==

{{reflist}}

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[[Category:Living people]]

[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

{{more cats|date=January 2022}}

[[Category:Libertarian Party (United States)]]

[[Category:Libertarian Party (United States) politicians]]

[[Category:People from Texas]]

[[Category:Arkansas politicians]]