Ed Hershey will be the Working Class Party candidate for Illinois' 4th Congressional district in 2026. Because WCP received just over 5% of this district's vote in 2024, the party was not required to gather signatures to appear on its ballot this year.
Ed has already begun campaigning.
Ed appeared at a debate among district candidates:
And Ed appeared on the podcast Crashing The Political Party.
This year Working Class Party did collect signatures to get a second candidate on the Illinois ballot, Jordan Villas, in the 12th state senate district. In the 90 days allowed by law, about a dozen people gathered more than 2800 signatures, twice the 1400 that the state requires.
But, like almost every independent candidate, the Democratic Party challenged Jordan's signatures. WCP is fighting to keep him on the ballot right now. An article on the challenge was posted to the blog Second City Teachers: Democrat Challenges Petition of Working Class Party.