Secretary of State is tricky because the incumbent, Alexi Giannoulias, 50, is not only seeking reelection for his current post, but also running for mayor of Chicago. He is widely considered the frontrunner for that new gig, not least by virtue of how much money he has raised. But there are of course other strong candidates at this juncture, including an incumbent likely to muster more support than some people think.
Still, in one sense, you could view a ballot cast for Giannoulias as a vote for whoever Pritzker nominates as the secretary of state replacement. That’s putting a lot of faith in the governor, a political animal if ever there was one.
On the other hand, Giannoulias has proved an exceptionally competent successor to longtime Secretary of State Jesse White. Just ask anyone who has interacted with his office.
Giannoulias pursued digitization and automation of services that made the cumbersome experience of navigating the DMV less onerous, enabling folks to do routine tasks entirely online. He also launched permanent self-service emissions testing kiosks at the Chicago South DMV location. Excellent. More of all of this, please.
He triaged Illinois’ bungled Real ID rollout by opening a downtown Real ID Supercenter without asking for additional taxpayer funding to do so. Most recently, we applauded Giannoulias’ initiative on e-bikes and e-scooters, which have become a pernicious problem in the city and suburbs alike, and have unfortunately led to serious traffic incidents, some fatal.
Running to unseat Giannoulias is Republican Diane Harris, 70, a small business owner and former teacher, and an active member of the Republican Party, serving as a precinct committee head and vice chair of the Joliet Township Republicans. In the primary, we endorsed Harris as the most viable candidate on the Republican side.
Giannoulias has over $20 million in his war chest and the full backing of the governor. But we care most about his track record as secretary of state, and we judge his work in that office as excellent. Harris has not put together a serious enough campaign to present a credible challenge, even for Republican voters, to our minds. We have serious misgivings about Giannoulias’ dual campaigns and potential departure from the role, but he is clearly the best choice.
Alexi Giannoulias is endorsed.
Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois general election here.
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