Counting down to the primary: How open seats led to hot races across the suburbs, state
Of the dozens of political races Illinois voters will decide Tuesday, the most competitive don’t feature incumbents.
Rather than running for another six years in the U.S. Senate, veteran Democratic lawmaker Dick Durbin will step down at the end of his current term in January 2027 — prompting a bevy of Democrats and Republicans to battle for the open seat.
Among them is U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg, who’s giving up his 8th District seat to run for Senate — resulting in crowded races for the Democratic and GOP nominations in the 8th.
Likewise, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s decision not to seek reelection in the 9th Congressional District after 28 years led to a torrent of candidates eager to succeed her.
U.S. Senate
With Durbin’s coveted Senate seat up for grabs in blue-state Illinois, it’s been a raucous battle between the Democratic front-runners: Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Krishnamoorthi and fellow U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly.
The campaign started slow but gathered steam in January after the first televised forum when Chicagoan Stratton went on offense against Krishnamoorthi over campaign contributions.
Krishnamoorthi built up a significant war chest, but Stratton received backing and funding from Gov. JB Pritzker. Sparring between the two over donations sucked up much of the oxygen in debates with Kelly, of Lynwood.
Other Democrats on the ballot are former congressional aide and Chicagoan Steve Botsford; attorney Sean Brown of Orland Park; nonprofit executive Awisi Bustos of Springfield; Chicagoan Jonathan Dean, a lawyer; engineer Bryan Maxwell of Urbana; Chicago teacher Kevin Ryan; and Chicagoan Christopher Swann, a manager at Feed America.
In contrast, the Republican primary has been civil, with candidates agreeing on many core issues. Contenders include university instructor R. Cary Capparelli of Chicago, retired IT professional Casey Chlebek of Lake Forest, Chicago attorney Jeannie Evans, Edwardsville occupational therapist Pamela Denise Long, author and Chicagoan Jimmy Lee Tillman II, and Don Tracy of Springfield, who is well-known in GOP circles after serving several years as state party chair.
8th Congressional
Election Day will end crowded races for Democratic and Republican candidates in the 8th Congressional District.
On the Democratic ballot are Junaid Ahmed of South Barrington, Hanover Park Trustee Yasmeen Bankole, former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean of Barrington, Sanjyot Dunung of Des Plaines, Neil Khot of Hoffman Estates, Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison of Mount Prospect, Dan Tully of Carol Stream and Ryan Vetticad of South Barrington.
The GOP hopefuls are Kevin Ake of Elk Grove Village, Jennifer Davis of Huntley, Herbert Hebein of Chicago and Mark Rice of Arlington Heights.
Bean, who held the office from 2005 to 2011, and Davis announced their candidacies in mid-September, changing the dynamics of races that were well underway during the summer.
In addition to Bean, a few other candidates have political experience. Both Morrison and Bankole previously worked for Krishnamoorthi; Ahmed challenged Krishnamoorthi in the 2002 Democratic primary; and Rice faced Krishnamoorthi in the 2004 general election.
The 8th District includes portions of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties.
9th Congressional
A whopping 14 Democratic candidates are running to be the party’s nominee in the 9th District, which includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.
Leading the pack are Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, state Sen. Laura Fine of Glenview and former internet personality Kat Abughazeleh of Chicago. Other prominent Democratic hopefuls include state Sen. Mike Simmons of Chicago; state Rep. Hoan Huynh of Chicago; former FBI agent Phil Andrew of Wilmette; and Skokie school board member Bushra Amiwala.
Also running are Evanston residents Patricia A. Brown, Jeff Cohen, Bethany Johnson and Nick Pyati; Wilmette’s Sam Polan; and Chicagoans Mark A. Fredrickson and Justin Ford of Chicago.
The Democratic primary contest is Illinois’ costliest congressional race, with the candidates raising nearly $14 million and spending nearly $11 million through late February. That fundraising has been one of the chief issues of the race, with candidates calling each other out for accepting donations from groups that support Israel or that represent corporations. Some have been criticized for accepting donations from contributors who also have given to Republican candidates or who are billionaires.
The Democrats have been divided on whether the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency should be abolished and whether Israel’s military action in Gaza since the October 2023 terror attacks constitutes genocide.
Four Republicans — Rocio Cleveland of Island Lake, John Elleson of Arlington Heights and Chicagoans Paul Friedman and Mark Su — are running in that party’s primary. But voters in the district haven’t sent a Republican to Congress since the 1940s.
Governor
With Pritzker firmly in the driver’s seat in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, a four-way Republican competition has offered more excitement.
Candidates are 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey of Xenia; former Wirepoints chief Ted Dabrowski of Wilmette; video gambling magnate Rick Heidner of Barrington Hills; and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick of Woodridge.
The race was marked by tragedy Oct. 22, when Bailey’s son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren died in a Montana helicopter crash. Bailey, who’s led in polls, suspended his campaign but resumed Nov. 10.
The four men have very different personal styles but are all staunch conservatives, supporters of President Donald Trump and Pritzker critics.
Some counties, including Kane and Lake, will have ballots listing Joseph Severino as a gubernatorial Republican candidate because of a timing issue. The Illinois State Board of Elections disqualified Severino earlier this year citing insufficient signatures on his petitions.
Any votes for Severino will not be counted, state officials said.