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About the Candidate: Rio Phillips

Progressive Working Class Democrat | U.S. Senate Candidate | Son of Appalachia

A rising voice for justice from the heart of Appalachia, Rio Phillips is part of a new generation of working-class leaders determined to shake up the status quo. Rio Phillips, born Christopher Phillips, is a proud son of the Appalachian Mountains and lifelong champion for working people. Raised in Waynesboro, VA, on the Blue Ridge Parkway, a community where neighbors looked out for one another and no one had the luxury of indifference, Rio learned early that real power comes from the bottom up — not the top down.

A product of America’s rural towns and resilient Appalachian backbone, Rio’s political awakening began in 2000, when he watched in disbelief as the presidential election was halted — not by voters, but by politicians. The very questionable election of George W. Bush, aided by his brother Jeb Bush, the Governor of Florida, shattered any illusions about fairness in the system. That moment didn’t create Rio’s fire — but it lit the fuse.

Over the next two decades, Rio threw himself into community organizing, mutual aid networks, peace and labor solidarity efforts — not out of ideology, but out of necessity. He’s walked countless picket lines, helped feed so many homeless, and stood beside the ignored, the overworked, and the left-behind. Late last year, Rio organized a massive 10,000 gallon drinkable water effort for the besieged Palestinians of Gaza. Most recently, he has escalated his efforts to bring transparency to the neglected regions of south West Virginia, where roads are explicitly dangerous, and water is toxic, oftentimes an unacceptable yellow and brown!

His campaign isn’t built on Wall Street money or D.C. consultants — it’s powered by everyday people like you, tired of being told to wait their turn, tired of never being given a fair shake.

Rio’s history in education and business is one that reflects the turbulent and expensive time we live in. Rio attended school at University of Central Florida in Orlando, Erie Community College in Buffalo, NY, and then Buffalo State College, also in Buffalo, where some of his family resides. While Rio did not finish college, he is not ashamed of this, he lives a debt-free life in Charleston, West Virginia, where he continues to invest countless hours into his education. After years running his own marketing and media firm, Phillips Media, COVID-19 sent his business into free-fall. This is when Rio moved to West Virginia, in 2020, in the rebuilding of his life during the pandemic. Following a post-COVID reconstruction phase as a recession-proof licensed Health and Life Insurance Agent, he shifted gears into the tech field, currently a Google-certified Cybersecurity Expert optimizing Artificial Intelligence through data analytics. To give you an idea of his media experience, Rio created and launched every component of this campaign himself, from the social media, to the website, to the fundraising video, to the merchandise and more!

His experience in media and cybersecurity emboldens Rio to tackle bringing West Virginia fully into the 21st century! To attract all levels of new innovation and investment! He is also developing a ground-breaking new fire extinguisher that operates without any chemicals or liquid whatsoever! Lots of irons in the fire, as they say!

Today, Rio is running for the U.S. Senate, not to join the club — but to break open the doors for everyone else. His platform centers economic dignity, healthcare for all, workers’ rights, climate justice, and a democracy that actually works for the people. From the hollers to the Hill, he’s ready to fight like hell for West Virginia — and for every American who’s been counted out, ignored, and sidelined. Rio is organizing a state-wide network of Progressive Working Class Democrats, surrounded by the very best that West Virginia has to offer, from the youth to our seniors, black, white, brown, military veterans, citizen activists, from Muslim to Christian to Jew, all sexual orientations, every kind of person is welcome in the Rio campaign!

Where Shelley Moore Capito is afraid to do Town Halls because her policies have failed to lift West Virginia up, and also because her President, Donald Trump, is explicitly unconstitutional, Rio will not be afraid. Rio will do as many Town Halls as he can possibly do. Proud to stand before all of West Virginia, proud to reunite all West Virginians into a historic movement that is sweeping our state!

Executive Summary

I am running for the United States Senate to return our democracy to its rightful owners: we the people. I am running to lift West Virginia out of poverty, to see West Virginia be competitive, to see West Virginia flourish.

For too long, our corrupt government has served the interests of a wealthy few, the architects of endless debt and endless war. Together, we are charting a new course — grounded in human rights, economic opportunity, accountability, and without any doubt whatsoever, liberty and justice for all.

We are creating a future where every West Virginian and every American can thrive, where our families can succeed, where our domestic and foreign policies reflect our deepest values: Constitutional protection, human dignity, and service to others.

NUMBERS DO NOT LIE!

After 25 years in power, Shelley Moore Capito has left West Virginia at the bottom of the national rankings barrel!

West Virginia is:

  • 47th in education
  • 47th in economy
  • 50th in infrastructure

These figures are absolutely unacceptable. Shelley has had ample opportunity to lift us off the bottom of this barrel. She has failed to do so. Workers who don’t do their job get fired.

It’s time for us people of West Virginia to come together and reclaim our legacy, our history, our working class values! The strength we have shown to the billionaire class before! Now is the time! Now is the moment! Working class people have everything it takes to lead! So let’s lead!

Major Policy Areas

West Virginia Specific

  • No roads left unfixed and dangerous, I will personally help ensure all roads are safe to drive on
  • No communities left unassisted after weather disasters or chemical pollution spills
  • Zero sewage contamination allowed in public waterways
  • Explicit support for coal workers, their health and their collective bargaining union rights
  • Broadband access must be extended into rural communities
  • Recreational cannabis laws so taxation money can lift our rural communities out of poverty, and to make us competitive with our neighbors, no more regressive outdated policies that waste money
  • Separation of church and state, no more religious messaging coming from government
  • Dramatic expansion of homeless empowerment services and mental health services
  • Corporate tax incentive program to attract fresh industries and investments
  • Home purchase assistance program to attract young families to stay in-state

Constitutional Defense

  • Consistent action in defense of Constitutional values
  • Pro-2A, strongly support legal, safe, responsible gun ownership
  • Due process is afforded to everyone on US soil, regardless of status
  • Birthright citizenship is a non-negotiable
  • Habeas Corpus is a non-negotiable
  • To promote equality, government should keep religion separate, because this nation is founded upon this principle

Economic Justice & Working Families

  • $20/hour minimum wage (just a start, should be adjusted to keep pace with inflation)
  • Paid family and medical leave
  • Union rights & collective bargaining
  • Cancel medical debt and student loans
  • Homeless Empowered Living Program (HELP)
  • Affordable housing accessibility
  • No Wall Street behemoths should be buying up single family homes

Healthcare for All

  • Medicare for All
  • Lower prescription drug costs
  • Hold outlandish pharmaceutical profits accountable
  • Protect rural hospitals, build more
  • Expand mental health care access dramatically
  • To promote unity, I do not use the phrase “Pro-Choice” as I like to use “Pro-Medical Freedom.” This means I want every American citizen to have complete control over what goes in and out of their own bodies, and no one can force them to do otherwise. Whatever issue you want this to apply to, so be it. Freedom for all is foremost!

Peace First Foreign Policy

  • End endless wars, no more “War on Terror” Bush-era foreign policy
  • Bring troops home, no using American soldiers as corporate profit pawns
  • Close unnecessary military bases, repurpose materials to local communities
  • Audit & cut bloated Pentagon spending, perform DOGE-style cuts
  • Promote diplomacy, peace, and human rights everywhere, especially at the United Nations where the U.S. holds considerable power
  • Dramatically expand veterans services
  • Work to reduce veteran suicide epidemic

Human Rights for All

  • Stand against global authoritarianism & discrimination
  • Military open to every American willing to serve
  • Oppose mass surveillance & online censorship
  • Promote international cooperation on human rights & climate justice
  • End U.S. support for oppressive regimes
  • Make DEI Constitutional and non-negotiable
  • No sweeping travel bans
  • Due process for all people within our borders
  • Habeas Corpus is not to be touched
  • No more masked, anonymous “federal agents”
  • Hands off college campuses and endowments
  • Roe v Wade made Constitutional once and for all
  • John Lewis Bill made Constitutional once and for all
  • Same sex marriage = Freedom = American liberty that veterans sacrificed for

Democracy & Anti-Corruption

  • Ban corporate PAC donations & foreign lobbying
  • Restore every Congressionally mandated agency and institution illegally invaded and shut down by DOGE
  • Congressional term limits, no more career politicians
  • Full public campaign financing
  • Strengthen voting rights
  • Stop gerrymandering
  • Ensure government transparency
  • Strictly enforce conflict of interest laws
  • Reinforce the anti-bribery gifting mechanisms of the Constitution (no giant planes!)

Environmental Stewardship

  • Support for coal workers, their health and unions
  • Massive investments into renewable energy
  • Protect clean water and air
  • Hold corporate polluters accountable
  • No wholesale auction of our National Parks and Forests

Civil Liberties & Internet Freedom

  • Repeal the Patriot Act and NDAA
  • Protect whistleblowers and independent journalists
  • Defend encryption, privacy, and free speech
  • Oppose warrantless surveillance
  • Safeguard net neutrality

Signature Proposals

Peace & Prosperity Act

Reduce military spending by 25% and reinvest in American students and universities, with an explicit focus on becoming educationally dominant once again, our schools being world-class and accessible for all Americans.

No Kings Act

Convicted felons cannot serve as President of the United States, and joking about being King, as President, should warrant immediate removal by force from public office. End political dynasties and restore government accountability.

Human Rights First Agenda

Align all U.S. foreign policy with international human rights and peace-building. No more United Nations vetoes in support of genocide. The American ideal of being a light upon the hill can only be achieved this way. America is not first if everyone gets left behind. America can only be first by lifting everyone up out of suffering.

Closing Vision Statement

I seek only to serve the people. Of West Virginia. Of the United States of America. Of the world. We must end, once and for all, the politics of greed, failure, and corruption. We must build a democracy worthy of its name — an America where every human being lives with opportunity and dignity, where every peaceful dignified nation is treated with respect.

Together, we are building that brighter future today. Together, we dream bigger and achieve more. Together, the impossible is possible.

Rio Phillips
Progressive Working Class Democratic Candidate for U.S. Senate, West Virginia