Congressional primary matchups set

SPRINGFIELD — The opportunity for candidates for Congress to officially file their bids ended Tuesday with a nearly full slate of primary contests among both Democrats and Republicans.

Most candidates filed Friday before the holiday weekend, but Democrat Tammy Duckworth was among those turning in her papers Tuesday, the last day candidates could apply to get their names on the ballot.

Duckworth, of Hoffman Estates, will face fellow Hoffman Estates Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi in the 8th Congressional District. That district includes Carpentersville, Elgin, Arlington Heights, Schaumburg and Roselle and stretches south past Addison to Lombard.

The suburban candidates that appear to have avoided primary contests are incumbent U.S. Reps. Peter Roskam of Wheaton, Randy Hultgren of Winfield and Robert Dold of Kenilworth.

Every incumbent lawmaker in the suburbs is running for re-election.

Also running are some high-profile candidates who have lost previous bids. Duckworth, for example, lost her 2006 race for Congress against Roskam. Krishnamoorthi lost a primary race in 2010 for state comptroller.

And Democrat Bill Foster of Naperville — a former member of Congress who lost his 2010 election to Hultgren — is running in a three-way primary in the 11th District against Jim Hickey of Orland Park and Juan Thomas of Aurora.

Now that candidates have filed for office, the primary fields are largely set. But in the coming weeks, the validity of petition signatures that candidates gathered could be challenged.

The primary election is March 20.