2026 Midterms State GuideIllinois
Hold on to your deep-dish and windmills.
Polls are closed
Polls are closed in Illinois, and results aren’t finalized yet.
Ballots are still being counted, close races can take days to call, and no result is official until it’s certified.
A prayer for Illinois
Faithful Father, steady the hearts of Illinoisans with Your steadfast care this midterm season. Protect voters’ judgment and anchor them in wisdom to vote, seeking the righteousness of Your Kingdom and the flourishing of their communities.
Read the whole prayerUpdated
Hi! It’s me, Shadrach. Apparently, I’m your civic guide today. If you’ve been complaining about how things are going (and I’ve heard you... the walls are thin), this guide will help you feel informed and able to vote in this year’s midterms. Now, hold on to your deep-dish and windmills, and let’s get into it.
Illinois at a glance
Illinois votes on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, for governor, U.S. Senate and all 17 U.S. House seats.
- Election Day
- Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026
- Early voting
- Sep. 24: Early voting begins; mail ballots start going out
- Governor
- 9 candidates
- U.S. Senate
- 3 candidates
- U.S. House
- 17 seats
- Statewide ballot measures
- None
What happens next
The counting continues
Election-night numbers are unofficial. Mail, provisional, and military ballots are still being counted, so close races can take days to call.
- Nov. 17Deadline for mail ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 to arrive.
Officials double-check the count
Local election officials review the ballots and the tallies (the canvass). A very close race can go to a recount.
Illinois certifies the results
Results become official once Illinois certifies them, usually a few weeks after Election Day.
Winners take office
The new Congress takes office in early January. Governors and other state officials take office on dates set by state law, most of them in January too.
Important dates
- Mar. 17Primaries This date has passed.
- Sep. 24Early voting begins; mail ballots start going out This date has passed.
- Oct. 6Last day for regular registration (grace-period registration continues through Election Day.) This date has passed.
- Oct. 18Last day for online registration. This date has passed.
- Oct. 19Early voting expands to permanent polling places, including weekends. This date has passed.
- Oct. 29Deadline for mail-ballot applications to be received by mail. This date has passed.
- Nov. 2Early voting ends; deadline for in-person mail-ballot requests. This date has passed.
- Nov. 3Election Day, polls open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., in-person registration available. This date has passed.
- Nov. 17Deadline for mail ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 to arrive.
What’s at stake
Illinois has two full statewide contests in 2026: a U.S. Senate race featuring Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton (D) against former Illinois GOP chair Don Tracy (R), and a rematch governor's race with incumbent JB Pritzker (D) pursuing a historic third term against Darren Bailey (R), the farmer and former state senator who lost to Pritzker by 13 points in 2022. Economic concerns top Illinois voters' minds: inflation and cost of living, jobs, and long-running fiscal challenges. Democrats hold a structural advantage in Illinois, but Republicans argue Pritzker-era policies have driven up costs and pushed residents out. Illinois has 17 House seats in play, including five open seats.
Who’s on your ballot
Tap a race to see the candidates.
Illinois is choosing a governor
See whose priorities line up with yours
Here are the top priorities each candidate lists, in their own words. Pick the 3 that matter most to you. Names stay hidden until you see your results.
0 of 3 picked
- Top priorities
Darren BaileyRepublican- Fully funding schools, empowering parents' choices and giving teachers the resources they need
- Supporting law enforcement, cracking down on repeat offenders and holding violent criminals accountable
- Lowering taxes and utility costs by cutting wasteful spending and restoring fiscal responsibility
JB PritzkerDemocratincumbent
Top priorities- Lowering costs by eliminating the grocery tax, doubling the child tax credit and cutting child care costs
- Expanding health care access, lowering prescription costs, erasing medical debt and protecting reproductive rights
- Opposing Trump administration policies he says threaten Illinoisans' health care, education and rights
- Top prioritiesCollin CorbettIndependent
- Making life more affordable, starting with lowering property taxes by fully funding schools and ending unfunded state mandates on local governments
- Getting Illinois growing again by supporting small businesses, lowering regulatory costs, and ending tax breaks for large corporations
- Reforming Illinois's broken system by ending partisan gerrymandering, opening primaries, strengthening ethics and transparency rules, and making it a top priority to fix DCFS
- Mike VickAmerican Solidarity Party
Write-in
- Griselda RomeroGreen
Write-in
- Richard MayersIndependent
Write-in
- Misty MetrozIndependent
Write-in
- Elizabeth SebestaIndependent
Write-in
- Patricia L. TillmanIndependent
Write-in
- Get to know ’em
Don TracyRepublican - Get to know ’em
Whitfield Harrington Jr.American Center Party
All U.S. House of Representatives seats are up for election every two years. Find your district here.
- Shadrach’s big picture
Illinois sends 17 representatives to Congress, making it tied with Pennsylvania for the fifth-largest House delegation. Democrats currently hold 14 seats; Republicans hold 3. The 2026 cycle features an unusually high number of open seats, creating potential for change even in a deep-blue state.
- Open seats
Five: Reps. Jesus Garcia (D-4), Danny K. Davis (D-7), and Jan Schakowsky (D-9) are retiring from office; and Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-8) and Robin Kelly (D-2) ran for the U.S. Senate (but lost in the primaries).
- Competitive districts
No Illinois district is really considered competitive. IL-12, IL-15, and IL-16 are ranked solidly Republican, and the rest are solidly Democratic. Still, none of the 17 districts are guaranteed to either party.
Also on the ballot
Other races Illinois voters will decide.
- Lieutenant Governor
- Attorney General
- Secretary of State
- Comptroller
- Treasurer
- State Senate
- State House
- Intermediate appellate courts
- School boards
- Municipal governments
Whose job is it?
Ten things government does. Tap the office that does each one.
Whose job is it to…
1 of 10
Declare a state of emergency after a hurricane or flood?
Pass it on
Know someone voting in Illinois?
Send them the guide. It takes one tap, and it saves them an evening of arguing in a group chat.
A prayer for Illinois
Faithful Father, steady the hearts of Illinoisans with Your steadfast care this midterm season. Protect voters’ judgment and anchor them in wisdom to vote, seeking the righteousness of Your Kingdom and the flourishing of their communities.
Keep candidates from performance, posturing, and contempt. Instead, help them campaign with transparency and integrity. May whoever wins steward the weight of their office well, leading with dignity and discernment.
For those who will be disappointed by the result, comfort them in their grief and make Yourself known to them in their fear of tomorrow. Open doors for conversations about the good news that Your sovereignty is not suspended on election night, and Your good purposes aren’t undone by any election cycle.
And for those who will be pleased, turn their hearts toward love of neighbor, humble service, and gracious speech.
Amen.