Daily Herald opinion: Preparing for the primary: There’s too much at stake to sit out March 17 election

If you are the type of voter who generally sits out political primaries, you may want to reconsider — or be faced with choices you can’t support, or frankly can’t stomach, come November.

Early voting began Thursday at select locations throughout Kane, Lake and Will counties, with more to come on March 2. In suburban Cook County, Feb. 18 marks the start of early voting, with additional sites opening March 2.

Meanwhile, vote by mail ballots will be arriving soon for those who requested them, with election officials suggesting voters return them early to guarantee the ballots are postmarked by Election Day amid changes at the U.S. Postal Service.

The March 17 primary is fast approaching, giving voters an ever-narrowing window to research their choices for Congress, county boards and a host of other elected positions.

Doing that homework isn’t easy, especially in the most crowded races. There are 14 Democrats, down from an even larger field, and four Republicans running in the 9th District alone. But selecting the best candidates to move forward is essential, no matter how challenging.

On the Democratic side in the 9th — as with key races in Cook County — the winner of the primary is very likely to go on to victory in November. In fact, Democrats have continually held that seat since 1949, making it one of the most reliably blue districts in the country. Retiring incumbent Jan Schakowsky won with more than 68% of the vote in 2024 and just shy of 72% two years earlier. Doing your homework now on which candidate in that race advances is vital.

So is weeding out candidates ill-suited to public office.

In the 9th District Republican primary, for example, Rocio Cleveland has built a campaign around attention-grabbing stunts that are beneath the dignity of a candidate for Congress. In a recent endorsement interview, she made a mockery of serious questions by cycling through accessories — from bright pink bunny ears to sparkly sunglasses — as she lobbed unsubstantiated accusations against her opponents and took swipes at the transgender community.

And in the 8th District Republican primary, candidate Kevin Ake, who describes himself as a born-again Christian and was once convicted of a hate crime, disparaged gays and hammered his opponents — one Catholic, the other Jewish — over their religious beliefs, sending a strong message to would-be constituents whose beliefs don’t align with his.

We acknowledge that some voters may be uncomfortable voting in a primary, which means pulling a partisan ballot. We understand their hesitancy, but the stakes in this election — for Democrats and Republicans — are too high to stand on the sidelines.

Our endorsements will begin running on Feb. 15. To make them, we talk to candidates, research their stands on the issues, weigh their qualifications and determine if they have what it takes to serve with honor and integrity.

Voters should do the same.