Elections in Illinois | ||||||||
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A general election will be held in the U.S. state of Illinois on November 6, 2018. All of Illinois' executive officers will be up for election as well as all of Illinois' eighteen seats in the United States House of Representatives and all of 118 seats of Illinois House of Representatives.
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are currently 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory and shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, Americans are citizens both of the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons restricted by certain types of court orders. Four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.
Illinois is a state in the Midwestern and Great Lakes region of the United States. It has the fifth largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth largest population, and the 25th largest land area of all U.S. states. Illinois is often noted as a microcosm of the entire United States. With Chicago in northeastern Illinois, small industrial cities and immense agricultural productivity in the north and center of the state, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base, and is a major transportation hub. Chicagoland, Chicago's metropolitan area, encompasses over 65% of the state's population. The Port of Chicago connects the state to international ports via two main routes: from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois Waterway to the Illinois River. The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Wabash River form parts of the boundaries of Illinois. For decades, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and, through the 1980s, in politics.
The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they compose the legislature of the United States.
Incumbent Republican Governor Bruce Rauner is running for re-election to a second term. He is opposed by Democrat venture capitalist and billionaire J. B. Pritzker, Libertarian Kash Jackson, and Conservative Party candidate Sam McCann.
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.
The Governor of Illinois is the chief executive of the State of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state. The governor is responsible for enacting laws passed by the Illinois General Assembly. Illinois is one of 14 states that does not have a gubernatorial term-limit. The governor is commander-in-chief of the state's land, air and sea forces, when they are in state service.
Bruce Vincent Rauner is an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois, from 2015 to 2019. Prior to his election, he was the chairman of R8 Capital Partners and chairman of the private equity firm GTCR, based in Chicago. He was the Republican nominee in the 2014 Illinois gubernatorial election and defeated Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn by 50.3% to 46.4%. Rauner was defeated in the 2018 gubernatorial election by Democratic challenger J. B. Pritzker.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | J. B. Pritzker/Juliana Stratton | 2,356,991 | 54.0 | |
Republican | Bruce Rauner/Evelyn Sanguinetti (incumbent) | 1,716,331 | 39.3 | |
Conservative | Sam McCann/Aaron Merreighn | 188,015 | 4.3 | |
Libertarian | Kash Jackson/Sanj Mohip | 104,673 | 2.4 | |
Total votes | 4,366,008 | 100.0 |
Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who has served since 2003, is not running for re-election to a fifth term. Democrat Kwame Raoul will face off against Republican Erika Harold [1]
The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by election through universal suffrage. Based in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, the Attorney General is responsible for providing legal counsel for the various state agencies including the Governor of Illinois and Illinois General Assembly, and conducting all legal affairs pertaining to the state.
Lisa Murray Madigan is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as Attorney General of the U.S. state of Illinois from 2003 to 2019, being the first woman to hold that position. She is also the stepdaughter of Michael Madigan, who has served as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives since 1997.
Kwame Raoul is an American lawyer and politician who has been the 42nd Attorney General of Illinois since 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Kwame Raoul | 390,472 | 30.17 | |
Democratic | Pat Quinn | 352,425 | 27.23 | |
Democratic | Sharon Fairley | 164,304 | 12.70 | |
Democratic | Nancy Rotering | 123,446 | 9.54 | |
Democratic | Scott Drury | 102,193 | 7.90 | |
Democratic | Jesse Ruiz | 70,158 | 5.42 | |
Democratic | Renato Mariotti | 51,902 | 4.01 | |
Democratic | Aaron Goldstein | 39,196 | 3.03 | |
Total votes | 1,294,096 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Erika Harold | 378,707 | 59.15 | |
Republican | Gary Grasso | 261,509 | 40.85 | |
Total votes | 640,216 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Kwame Raoul | 2,363,703 | 54.1 | |
Republican | Erika Harold | 1,892,272 | 43.3 | |
Libertarian | Bubba Harsy | 110,932 | 2.5 | |
Total votes | 4,366,907 | 100.0 |
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Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Jesse White, who has been in office since 1999, initially announced in August 2015 that he would retire. [2] On August 17, 2017, White reversed this decision and announced that he would run for re-election to a sixth term. [3]
The Secretary of State of Illinois is one of the six elected executive state offices of the government of Illinois, and one of the 47 secretaries of states in the United States. The Illinois Secretary of State keeps the state records, laws, library, and archives, and is the state's corporation registration, vehicle registration and driver licensing authority. The current Secretary of State is Jesse White, a Democrat who took office in 1999.
Jesse Clark White is an American athlete, educator and politician from the State of Illinois. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the 37th Secretary of State of Illinois since 1999. He is the longest-serving and the first African American to hold this position. Previously, he served as the Cook County Recorder of Deeds from 1993 to 1999 and in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1975 to 1993.
Michael E. Hastings is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate from the 19th district. The 19th district includes all or parts of Lockport, New Lenox, Mokena, Orland Park, Tinley Park, Frankfort, Frankfort Square, Homer Glen, Joliet, Richton Park, University Park, Matteson, Homewood, Flossmoor, Park Forest, Olympia Fields, Country Club Hills, Hazel Crest, Markham, and Oak Forest.
Walter Burnett Jr. has served as the alderman for Chicago's 27th ward since his first election in 1995. The 27th ward includes the West Loop, Greektown, East Garfield Park, Near North Side, Old Town, West Humboldt Park, West Town, Goose Island and the Illinois Medical District.
The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 aldermen elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The Chicago City Council is gaveled into session regularly, usually monthly, to consider ordinances, orders, and resolutions whose subject matter includes code changes, utilities, taxes, and many other issues. The presiding officer of the council is the Mayor of Chicago. The secretary is the City Clerk of Chicago. Both positions are city-wide elected offices. The Chicago City Council Chambers are located in Chicago City Hall, as are the downtown offices of the individual aldermen and staff.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Jesse White (incumbent) | 1,209,978 | 100.0 | |
Total votes | 1,209,978 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Jason Helland | 609,190 | 100.0 | |
Total votes | 609,190 | 100.0 |
Steve Dutner (L) |
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Jesse White (incumbent) | 2,978,056 | 67.9 | |
Republican | Jason Helland | 1,299,606 | 29.6 | |
Libertarian | Steve Dutner | 109,289 | 2.5 | |
Total votes | 4,386,951 | 100.0 |
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Incumbent Republican Judy Baar Topinka died on December 10, 2014, after being re-elected to a second term in office. A special election was held in 2016 for the remainder of the term, with Democratic City Clerk of Chicago Susana Mendoza defeating appointed Republican Comptroller Leslie Munger. Mendoza is eligible to run for a full term in 2018.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Susana A. Mendoza (incumbent) | 1,147,095 | 100.0 | |
Total votes | 1,147,095 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Darlene Senger | 607,187 | 100.0 | |
Total votes | 607,187 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Susana Mendoza (incumbent) | 2,585,882 | 59.4 | |
Republican | Darlene Senger | 1,635,090 | 37.5 | |
Libertarian | Claire Ball | 134,208 | 3.1 | |
Total votes | 4,355,18 | 100.00 |
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Michael W. Frerichs (incumbent) | 1,087,950 | 100.0 | |
Total votes | 1,087,950 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Jim Dodge | 602,626 | 100.0 | |
Total votes | 602,626 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Mike Frerichs | |||
Republican | Jim Dodge | |||
Libertarian | Mike Leheney | |||
Total votes |
All of Illinois' eighteen seats in the United States House of Representatives will be up for election in 2018.
Patrick Joseph Quinn Jr. is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 41st Governor of Illinois, from 2009 to 2015. A Democrat, Quinn began his career as an activist by founding the Coalition for Political Honesty. He is currently working on Take Charge Chicago, a petition for referendums to limit the Mayor of Chicago to two four-year terms and create an elected Consumer Advocate in the city.
Kenneth Dunkin, commonly known as Ken Dunkin, is an American politician. He is currently an appointed member of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners. Dunkin previously served as a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 5th District from December 2002 until January 2017.
Susana A. Mendoza is an American politician. She is the 10th Comptroller of Illinois, serving in that role since December 2016. She formerly served as Chicago City Clerk and as an Illinois State Representative, representing the 1st District of Illinois.
The 2006 Election for statewide offices in the State of Illinois were held on 7 November 2006. On that date, registered voters in the State of Illinois were eligible to elect officeholders in six statewide offices: the office of Governor of Illinois, Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, Illinois Attorney General, Illinois Secretary of State, Illinois Treasurer and Illinois Comptroller.
The Comptroller of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. They are responsible for maintaining the State's fiscal accounts, and for ordering payments into and out of them. The office was created by the Illinois Constitution of 1970, replacing the office of Auditor of Public Accounts.
The 2010 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor Pat Quinn sought and was elected to a full term in office. Quinn was elected as the Democratic nominee, the Illinois Green Party nominee was attorney and 2006 nominee Rich Whitney, the Republican nominee was State Senator Bill Brady, the Libertarian Party nominee was Lex Green, and Scott Lee Cohen ran as an independent. Governor Quinn won election to a full term in a very close race, beating Senator Brady by only about 32,000 votes, despite Brady winning in 98 of 102 Illinois counties.
The 2014 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, concurrently with the election to Illinois' Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Illinois on November 4, 2014. All of Illinois' executive officers were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat, and all of Illinois' eighteen seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on March 18, 2014.
Jeanne M. Ives is an American politician and former Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 42nd district. The district includes Carol Stream, Lisle, Warrenville, Wheaton, Winfield, West Chicago, and Naperville. She ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary in the 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election, narrowly losing to incumbent Governor Bruce Rauner.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 6, 2018 in 36 states and three territories. These elections formed part of the 2018 United States elections. Other coinciding elections were the 2018 United States Senate elections and the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections. The last regular gubernatorial elections for all but three of the states took place in 2014. Governors in New Hampshire and Vermont serve two-year terms, meaning that their most recent gubernatorial elections took place in 2016. Meanwhile, Oregon held a special election in 2016 to fill an unexpired term.
Leslie Geissler Munger is an American politician and business executive who was sworn in as Illinois Comptroller in 2015. She was appointed by incoming Governor Bruce Rauner to fill the vacancy caused by the death of re-elected Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka.
A special election for Illinois Comptroller took place on November 8, 2016. After comptroller Judy Baar Topinka died shortly after her reelection in 2014, Republican Governor Bruce Rauner appointed Leslie Munger, a former business executive and unsuccessful 2014 nominee for the Illinois House of Representatives, to fill her seat at the beginning of his term in 2015. Per Illinois state law, a special election was held to elect a comptroller to finish Topinka's term. Munger ran as the Republican nominee against Democratic Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza. State Senator Daniel Biss ran for the Democratic nomination, but dropped out in November 2015.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the 18 U.S. Representatives from the state of Illinois, one from each of the state's 18 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
The 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Governor of Illinois, concurrently with the 2018 Illinois general election. Incumbent Republican Governor Bruce Rauner ran for re-election to a second term in office, but was defeated by Democratic nominee J. B. Pritzker. This was the second consecutive Illinois gubernatorial election in which the incumbent governor lost re-election.
Juliana Stratton is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 48th lieutenant governor of Illinois, since 2019. She previously served as a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019. She is the first African-American woman to become Illinois' lieutenant governor.
The Illinois Budget Impasse was a 793-day-long budget crisis in the state of Illinois. From July 1, 2015, to August 31, 2017, Illinois was without a complete state budget for fiscal years 2016, 2017, and part of 2018. As a result, many state agencies had to cut services or continue borrowing to operate. The budget impasse has adversely affected Illinois' economy, its credit rating, and public confidence in Illinois' state government.
The 2018 general election was held in the U.S. state of Texas on November 6, 2018. All of Texas's executive officers were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat, and all of Texas's thirty-six seats in the United States House of Representatives. The Republican and Democratic Parties nominated their candidates by primaries held March 6, 2018. Convention Parties nominated their candidates at a series of conventions. County Conventions held March 17, 2018, District Conventions held March 24, 2018, and a State Convention held April 14, 2018. At the present time there is only one Convention Party in Texas, that is the Libertarian Party. Other parties may seek to achieve ballot access.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois were held on November 6, 2018, to elect U.S. Representatives, one from each of the state's eighteen congressional districts.
The 2018 Illinois Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Attorney General of Illinois. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who had served since 2003, did not seek re-election to a fifth term. Democrat Kwame Raoul won the election with 55 percent of the vote, while Republican Erika Harold took 43 percent of the vote.