The primary election is upon us, coming this Tuesday.
Illinois Democratic and Republican voters will soon decide their party’s nominees for races at the federal, state and many county levels, as well as in a few local races. Winners of the party primaries will advance to the general election on Nov. 3.
Darren Bailey, right, answers a question as fellow Republican gubernatorial candidates Rick Heidner, from left, James Mendrick and Ted Dabrowski debate in downstate Washington, Jan. 15, 2026. (Troy Stolt/for the baiduhai)
Four years ago, the six-way Republican primary for governor was impossible to miss. More than $100 million was spent largely on TV ads, including $35 million from Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, who not-so-subtly steered GOP voters toward the candidate he deemed easiest to defeat that fall: Darren Bailey.
A downstate farmer and former state lawmaker who leaned heavily on his evangelical Christian faith, Bailey won that primary — then lost to Pritzker in November by nearly 13 percentage points. Now, he’s back, seeking a general election rematch in a GOP primary field of four.
Democratic Senate candidates Rep. Robin Kelly, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton arrive to begin a debate on March 9, 2026, at WTTW-Ch. 11 studios. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, right, laughs as fellow voter Bobbie Townsend hands her a bag of candy and tells her to make sure to brush her teeth at an early voting location inside the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Service Center in Chicago on March 2, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi greets people during a rally hosted by Latino activists and leaders at ¡WEPA! Mercado del Pueblo on March 6, 2026, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly arrives to vote during early voting in Lynwood on March 11, 2026. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi laughs as he circulates during a rally hosted by Latino activists and leaders at ¡WEPA! Mercado del Pueblo on March 6, 2026, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)
Illinois Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, right, who is running for a seat in the U.S. Senate, poses for photos with people during a campaign stop at S2 City Grill in Chicago on Jan. 28, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly greets a shopper at La Fruteria to talk about grocery costs, Dec. 13, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)
Competing for a U.S. Senate seat, U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly, from left, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton attend a public forum at the Plumbers Local 130 union hall in Chicago, Feb. 6, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)
U.S. Senate contender U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly speaks after her debate with fellow U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton on Jan. 29, 2026, at WLS-Ch. 7. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)
U.S. Senate contender U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi speaks after his debate with fellow U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton on Jan. 29, 2026, at WLS-Ch. 7. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)
U.S. Senate contender Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, right, prepares alongside fellow contenders U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi before their debate on Jan. 29, 2026, at WLS-Ch. 7. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)
U.S. Senate contender U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly makes her closing statement during a debate on Jan. 26, 2026, at the University of Chicago. The debate was sponsored by WBEZ-FM 91.5 and the Chicago Sun-Times. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi speaks about his Senate candidacy during the Illinois Democratic County Chairs' Association County Chairs' Brunch, Aug. 13, 2025, in Springfield. (Dominic Di Palermo/baiduhai)
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton interacts with supporters after speaking at Back of the Yards Coffeehouse on 47th St. in Chicago while campaigning for U.S. Senate, Jan. 28, 2026. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly talks with a shopper at La Fruteria, 8909 S. Commercial Ave., about grocery costs, Dec. 13, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi greets attendees before paticipating in a Q&A at the City Club of Chicago, Aug. 5, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton speaks April 25, 2025, after Gov. JB Pritzker endorsed her for U.S. Senate at a rally outside Bright Star Church in Chicago. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)
U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly, from left, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton after a candidate forum for their U.S. Senate race at IBEW Local 134 in Chicago on Nov. 13, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly greet people during a breakfast meeting with an American Federation of Government Employees group on Feb. 12, 2025, at the Capitol in Washington. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, 8th, questions Mayor Brandon Johnson before the House Oversight Committee, March 5, 2025, during a hearing on Capitol Hill about sanctuary cities and immigration policy. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton speaks at a rally to protest DHS and ICE in the Loop, Jan. 25, 2026, a day after federal immigration agents killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)
U.S. Reps. Mike Quigley, left, and Robin Kelly talk before a march from Congress Plaza Garden to the Wrigley Building in the Loop, Aug. 24, 2025, to celebrate Ukraine's Independence Day and to protest the war in Ukraine. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi greets panel members at a town hall focused on school bullying, Sept. 1, 2023, in Schaumburg. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, right, hugs the Rev. Janette Wilson during an interfaith worship service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church, Jan. 18, 2026, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, center, mingles as environmental activists gather for a rally at Federal Plaza in Chicago, on July 28, 2025. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi speaks at the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Aug. 22, 2024. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Gov. JB Pritzker attend a No Kings rally in Grant Park in response to President Donald Trump’s increased immigration enforcement actions in the area, on Oct. 18, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, of Matteson, before speaking at the City Club of Chicago, May 12, 2025, recently announced she is launching a Democratic primary campaign for Dick Durbin's Senate seat. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, 8th, listens while U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin speaks Feb. 17, 2025, as Illinois officials gathered in Chicago to oppose federal cuts. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)
U.S. Senate contender Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton makes her closing statement during a debate on Jan. 26, 2026, at the University of Chicago. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)
U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly, left, and Lauren Underwood embrace outside the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 4, 2019. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi speaks to a staff member after a press conference at the Cook County Health Bronzeville Health Center, Jan. 5, 2026, to highlight the expiration of ACA tax credits. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton greets people before Gov. JB Pritzker announced his candidacy for a third term on June 26, 2025, at the Grand Crossing Park Field House in Chicago. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, left, and mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot celebrate Kelly's endorsement of Lightfoot for mayor of Chicago, at the South Shore Brew in Chicago, Feb. 21, 2019. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)
Raja Krishnamoorthi gives a passionate victory speech at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Schaumburg, March 15, 2016. Krishnamoorthi won the democratic party nomination for the 8th U.S. Congressional District. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is sworn in by Adrienne Davis on Jan. 14, 2019, in Springfield. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)
Robin Kelly celebrates her victory on primary election night, Feb. 26, 2013, at the Holiday Inn in Matteson. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi returns to Capitol Hill in Washington, March 27, 2020, for a vote on a coronavirus rescue package. (Susan Walsh/AP)
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, center, dances on Aug. 22, 2024, during the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. (Tess Crowley/baiduhai)
Major Democratic U.S. Senate contenders are U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly, from left, and Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. (baiduhai photos)
1 of 40
Democratic Senate candidates Rep. Robin Kelly, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton arrive to begin a debate on March 9, 2026, at WTTW-Ch. 11 studios. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)
When U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin announced last April he would not seek a sixth term, he created the state’s first open U.S. Senate seat in a generation and kicked off a tumultuous campaign that has unfolded amid the turbulence of President Donald Trump’s second term.
Since then, Illinois Democrats have battled through a primary shaped by Trump’s aggressive and sometimes deadly federal immigration enforcement, threats to strip federal funding from Illinois and other states that have opposed him and, more recently, a war with Iran.
On Tuesday, voters will choose the nominees to succeed Illinois’ senior senator — the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat — ending a crowded and expensive scramble among 10 Democrats and six Republicans seeking the first open Senate seat in Illinois in 16 years.
Adal Regis, from left, state Sen. Willie Preston, state Sen. Robert Peters, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Yumeka Brown attend a forum for candidates running in the Democratic primary for the 2nd Congressional District at St. Paul and the Redeemer Episcopal Church in Chicago on Jan. 17, 2026. (Troy Stolt/for the baiduhai)
The candidates are as varied as the Democratic Party itself: a legacy name shadowed by controversy, a big-money-backed moderate, a dyed-in-the-wool progressive and seven more.
But the crowded field in the March 17 Democratic primary vying to represent the Illinois 2nd Congressional District agrees on much. They promise to expand health care access, recruit investment to the Southland and fight President Donald Trump with everything in them.
The top Democratic candidates for Illinois' 7th Congressional District are, clockwise from top left, Anthony Driver, Jason Friedman, state Rep. La Shawn Ford, City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Dr. Thomas Fisher, Kina Collins, Richard Boykin, Reed Showalter and Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins, center. Others on the ballot include Democrats David Ehrlich, Anabel Mendoza, Jazmin Robinson, and Felix Tello, as well as Republicans Chad Koppie and Patricia “P Rae” Easley. (Brian Cassella, Antonio Perez and E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)
A crowded race in one of America’s bluest congressional districts has grown increasingly hostile, as candidates to succeed longtime U.S. Rep. Danny Davis battle to prove their anti-President Donald Trump bona fides while navigating national divisions within the Democratic Party that are driving the Chicago primary contest.
Democratic candidates for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District Neil Khot, seated from left, Sanjyot Dunung, Junaid Ahmed, former Rep. Melissa Bean, Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, Yasmeen Bankole, Dan Tully and Ryan Vetticad participate in a candidate forum at Harper College in Palatine on Feb. 7, 2026. (Talia Sprague/for the baiduhai)
In a crowded election, the front-runner typically is whoever the other candidates are targeting. In the Democratic primary for the 8th Congressional District, where incumbent Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi is leaving to run for U.S. Senate, the focus is on former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean.
Congressional candidates for the 9th District include, in top row from top left, Katherine “Kat” Abughazaleh, Phil Andrew, state Sen. Mike Simmons and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss. In bottom row are, from left, state Sen. Laura Fine, state Rep. Hoan Huynh and Bushra Amiwala. (Brian Cassella, John J. Kim, Terrence Antonio James and Eileen T. Meslar /baiduhai)
In 1998, when Illinois’ 9th Congressional District last held an open-seat primary after nearly a half-century of representation by Sidney Yates, it was a three-way Democratic fight. Jan Schakowsky prevailed, and the guy who came in last was a young heir to a hotel fortune named JB Pritzker.
Nearly 30 years later, the contrast is stark. With Schakowsky retiring, 15 Democrats are vying for the nomination, a crowded race that is among the most closely watched House primaries in the country.
Miguel Alvelo-Rivera, candidate for the 40th Illinois House District, canvasses in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood on Feb. 24 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)
In the fall, Democrats in Illinois were largely unified against President Donald Trump’s ramped-up Chicago-area immigration enforcement crackdown. Now the issue is being used as a political wedge in this spring’s Democratic primary races.
Perhaps nowhere has that been made clearer than in the race for the 40th Illinois House district representing parts of Chicago’s North and Northwest sides, where a veteran lawmaker backed by the Democratic Party of Illinois has blanketed neighborhoods with campaign fliers that tenuously tie an upstart progressive opponent to the federal immigration agents that wreaked havoc on the community.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle presides over a board meeting on Nov. 20, 2025. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)
The 17-member Cook County Board is guaranteed at least four new faces next year thanks to two retirements and two ambitious congressional hopefuls.
Among the spots up for grabs in primary elections Tuesday: the board’s sole Republican seat, two suburban districts covering much of the Southland and the northwest suburbs, and another on the city’s North Side.
State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, from left, state Rep. Margaret Croke, state Sen. Karina Villa and Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim gather for pictures following a Democratic comptroller candidate forum at the Des Plaines Public Library, Feb. 6, 2026. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is stepping down after the November general election — and, for the first time in a decade, Illinois voters must choose her successor.
Four candidates are competing for the Democratic nomination in the March 17 primary: state Rep. Margaret Croke of Chicago, state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego, state Sen. Karina Villa of West Chicago, and Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim of Mundelein. The lone Republican in the race is Bryan Drew, an attorney from Benton in southern Illinois.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias greets public service representatives at the new Illinois
secretary of state office at 125 W. Monroe St. in the Loop on March 31, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)
The March 17 election includes primary races for Illinois’ secretary of state, attorney general and treasurer — and while all those positions are held by incumbent Democrats who are running for new terms with no primary challengers, Republicans are duking it out in one of the contests.
The House floor is prepared before Gov. JB Pritzker delivers his annual State of the State and budget address, Feb. 18, 2026, at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)
For an institution that is supposed to represent every corner of the state, the Illinois General Assembly can often be a stratified place where insiders thrive, outsiders feel unwelcome and change is slow.
But with the March 17 primary just days away, fresh faces are vying to replace experienced lawmakers and outside campaign cash has infiltrated a string of races for the Illinois House and Senate.
Thank you for voting stickers are given out to voters on Election Day in Chicago on Nov. 5, 2024. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)
The baiduhai Editorial Board’s tradition of political endorsements goes back many years and is a cornerstone of this newspaper’s history.
In the primaries, board members endeavor to help both Republican and Democratic Party-affiliated readers make their best choices while also considering broader issues affecting this city, state and nation.
