The March 17 primary will see voters deciding on some key federal and state races in addition to one local contested primary and a few uncontested local races.

Governor

Gov. JB Pritzker is unopposed as he seeks to become the first Democrat elected to a third term for this office in Illinois. His new running mate is deputy governor Christian Mitchell, replacing Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton as she is running for a seat to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate.

A handful of Republicans are seeking to keep Pritzker a two-term governor. 

A familiar face in the gubernatorial contest on the Republican side is Darren Bailey, a farmer and former state legislator from Xenia in the heart of Southern Illinois.

Bailey won the 2022 GOP nomination for governor in a landslide before losing to Pritzker by nearly 13 percentage points in the general election. 

Bailey says he wants to “fight to lower taxes, cut wasteful government spending, and bring real fiscal responsibility back to Springfield,” while addressing “unacceptable” property tax expenses he claims have become a “burden” for Illinois homeowners. 

After a failed bid for Congress, Bailey’s looking to run it back against Pritzker, this time with lieutenant governor candidate Aaron Del Mar, a Cook County Republican Party chair who joined the ticket in an effort to court moderate suburban voters.

Ted Dabrowski is the former president of Wirepoint, a conservative research and commentary website. He is also a former leader and spokesman of the conservative Illinois Policy Institute. 

Dabrowski believes Illinois’ most pressing issue is “affordability,” promising to veto “any and all tax increases.”

He has also stated he will push to “limit property taxes to 1 percent on the assessed value of a home.”

The Wilmette resident’s running mate is Carrie Mendoza, an emergency physician.

Rick Heidner is a video gambling mogul, real estate entrepreneur and frequent political donor to both sides of the aisle. 

His businesses sometimes have had contentious relationships with state regulators under the Pritzker Administration. 

Heidner says Illinois has become “unaffordable, unsafe, and increasingly impossible for working families, young people and seniors to stay in the state and thrive” during Pritzker’s tenure as governor.

Heidner’s running mate is Christina Neitzke-Troike, mayor of southwest Chicago suburb Homer Glen.

James Mendrick is the two-term sheriff of DuPage County. 

Mendrick’s main platforms include ending “soft-on-crime policies”in addition to addressing high taxes and “strengthening job opportunities” through workforce training and “business-friendly” policies.  

His running mate is author and Army veteran Robert Renteria.

U.S. Senate

The 2026 elections mark the first time in 30 years Democrat Senator Dick Durbin will not be on the ballot. Durbin, who began his Senate career in 1997, announced last year he would not seek re-election, saying he knew it was “time to pass the torch.”

His departure has led to a bevy of candidates from both sides of the aisle to throw their hats in the ring for what is being described as a “battleground race,” as the outcome of the general election could sway the balance of the U.S. Senate, which currently has a slight Republican majority.

Of the 10 hopeful on the Democratic primary ballot and one write-in candidate, the three leading fundraisers are current Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi.

Stratton, a Chicago native and attorney, has been Pritzker’s lieutenant governor since he was elected in 2018.

She is pushing for a $25 per hour federal minimum wage, universal Medicare and eliminating corporate political action committees and their influence in Washington.

Kelly was a mental health counselor prior to serving in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2003-2007, then serving as chief of staff for Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias until 2010. She has been a U.S. Representative for Illinois’ 2nd congressional district since 2013.

Kelly has been involved with gun-control and healthcare  legislation, also co-sponsoring a bill to protect victims of domestic violence. She has been an advocate for farmers, seniors and small businesses in her district.

Krishnamoorthi is an attorney currently serving as the U.S. representative for Illinois’ 8th congressional district since 2017, succeeding Tammy Duckworth when she won her bid for U.S. Senate.

During his political career, he has challenged  pharmaceutical, tobacco, baby food and tech corporations.

Steve Botsford Jr. earned graduate degrees from Georgetown University and Northwestern University. His career experience includes working in real estate.

He says he is running to lower costs, make housing and healthcare affordable, and build a stronger, fairer America for working families.

Sean Brown is an attorney who describes himself as a “problem solver” rather than a politician.

His platform includes universal healthcare – including mental health care – immigration reform, violence prevention and “workforce readiness.”

Awisi Bustos is a first-generation Ghanaian American with over 16 years of leadership in government administration, human rights, law and public policy.

She wants to “reimagine education” and prepare “our kids and communities for the AI era and beyond” in addition to fighting for honesty and transparency in politics.

Jonathan Dean is an activist, entrepreneur, litigator and “a proud survivor of childhood sexual abuse.”

He says his main opponents are “old guard Democrats” who have done nothing in response to “the rise of Trumpism.”

He wants to address the problems facing young people and working families in standing “against fascism and for American freedom.”

Bryan Maxwell has a Ph.D. in agricultural engineering and has worked in agriculture and “sustainable technologies” for the past 15 years.

His platform is “anti-war,” with a push to provide “Medicare for all” and “tax the billionaires.” 

Kevin Ryan is an educator and University of Illinois alumni who has served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve since 2014 while earning graduate degrees from the University of Oxford and Georgetown University.

Ryan is focused on campaign and election reform, economic justice, immigration reform and universal Medicare, among other issues.

Christopher Swann has been a “nonprofit leader” and church deacon for more than a decade.

He says he is running because “every person deserves dignity: food, housing, healthcare, safety, and the power to live free from corporate control and political cowardice.”

Adam Delgado is a Democrat running as a write-in candidate who wants to restore Constitutional rights.

There are six Republicans on the ballot and one write-in candidate for the Senate seat.

The last Republican to represent Illinois in the Senate was Mark Kirk, who left office in 2017 following his 2016 loss to Duckworth.

R. Cary Capparelli has worked as a geography professor and as president of OMNI-Communique, a sports management and marketing firm. He also has a doctorate degree from the University of London.

He describes himself as the “common sense” Republican candidate with a focus on economics, national defense, affordable healthcare and crime.

Casey Chlebek was born in Czarny Dunajec, Poland, and is the founder of C&J Realty Management Inc., a comprehensive property management services firm.

His campaign is focused on “restoring integrity, prosperity and national dignity.”

Jeannie Evans is an attorney and graduate of the Harvard Law School.

Evans is focused on “reducing taxes and costs, supporting innovation and education, securing safe communities and creating opportunities for every family and business.”

Pamela Denise Long  is a consultant, project manager, columnist, media commentator and political analyst with a Ph.D. from Grand Canyon University.

Her campaign issues include immigration and border security, parental rights, healthcare and crime.

Jimmy Lee Tillman II is an author, historian, radio producer and founder of the the Martin Luther King Republicans.

Tillman is focused on voter ID laws, the “affordability crisis,” healthcare reform and other issues.

Don Tracy is an Urbana native and attorney with a law degree from the University of Memphis.

He is seeking to address the cost of living for working families while championing “common sense solutions” and representing “all of Illinois, not just Chicago.

Max Rice is a Republican write-in candidate who is running to establish term limits, campaign reform and a “READ the Bill Act.”

U.S. Representative

Voters in Monroe County will not decide anything in the primary as candidates for both parties are running unopposed.

For the Republicans, incumbent Mike Bost of Murphysboro is seeking re-election in the 12th District where he has served since 2015. He is a Marine veteran who also served as an Illinois State Representative for 20 years before moving to the national legislature. 

For the Democrats, Julie Fortier of O’Fallon is unopposed in the primary. She is an Air Force veteran with a Ph.D in pathology research seeking to “fight for working families, protect healthcare access and bring real solutions to Washington.” 

Local uncontested races

Democrat Pat Kelly is running unopposed for a seat on the county board. Kelly unsuccessfully ran against Commissioner Vicki Koerber in 2022.

Kelly will face the winner of the contested Republican primary race between George Green and Marvin Wittenauer in November.

In other Monroe County races, Republican incumbents Kevin Koenigstein (treasurer), Neal Rohlfing (sheriff), Jonathan McLean (county clerk) and Dawn Goff (supervisor of assessments) are running unopposed in the primary and general elections, barring any surprise filings before May 26.

Independent candidates and members of new political parties have until that date to file paperwork since no primaries are held for those groups.

In Illinois House of Representatives District 116, incumbent Republican Rep. David Friess of Red Bud is running unopposed.

Incumbent Republican Sen. Terri Bryant of Murphysboro is also unopposed in her re-election attempt for Illinois State Senate District 58.