Actor and "Reading Rainbow" host LeVar Burton has donated the maximum amount possible for an individual to support Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton’s campaign for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)

According to the latest Federal Election Commission filing, Stratton’s “Juliana for Illinois” campaign committee received $7,000 from Burton on March 9, 2026. The donations were earmarked by ActBlue for the Stratton campaign.

Any person can donate $3,500 per election to a federal candidate’s campaign committee. In this case, Burton gave $3,500 to support both her primary and general elections — these are considered separate races, allowing a single donor to contribute up to $7,000 per candidate during a regular election cycle.

Stratton is just the fourth candidate for whom Burton has made a campaign contribution, according to Federal Election Commission filings. 

Burton previously supported a federal candidate from Illinois when he supported then-U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama in 2004. He donated $2,000 in that Senate race. Four years later, Burton gave $300 to the “Obama for America” presidential campaign committee.

After the 2008 donation to "Obama for America," The actor, director, and television host known for his roles in "Roots," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and "Reading Rainbow" appears to have no reported federal campaign donations to a specific candidate until 2022, when he gave $8,700 to Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Mandela Barnes.

Following the support for Barnes, Burton in 2024 made 13 separate donations in the amount of $250 to the campaign committee for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, donating $3,250 to the “Harris for President” campaign committee through ActBlue earmarks.

Burton made no campaign contributions to a specific candidate after the 2024 Harris donations until his $7,000 to Stratton on March 9. 

The Telegraph reached out to the last listed public relations team member for Burton to request comment, but did not receive a response as of publication time.