Twenty-two candidates met the Nov. 3 filing deadline to run for U.S. Senate in a race that has been hotly contested after Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., announced his retirement in April. The eight Republicans and 14 Democrats vying for the opening will be on the ballot in Illinois’ general primary March 17 before the general election in November.
Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, has held one of Illinois’ two seats since 1997. After his term ends in January 2027, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., will become the state’s senior senator.
Lt. Gov Juliana Stratton, Rep. Robin Kelly, D-2, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-8, have established themselves as Democratic front-runners. The winner of the Democratic primary is heavily favored to win the general election.
Stratton has been Illinois’ Lieutenant Governor, second-in-command to Gov. JB Pritzker, since 2019. Endorsed by Pritzker and Duckworth, Stratton’s campaign focuses on bringing down the cost of living and protecting rights she says are being targeted by President Donald Trump.
Kelly has served Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District since 2013, which encompasses South Chicago to Danville, Illinois. Endorsed by Brady PAC, an anti-gun violence committee, and the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, Kelly’s priorities are “to make Illinois safe from crime and gun violence, lower costs for families, and tackle health inequities.”
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Krishnamoorthi has represented Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, which includes Chicago suburbs Schaumburg and Elgin, Illinois, since 2017. Spending over $450,000 a week on television ads for his campaign, Krishnamoorthi detailed a “Trump Accountability Plan” as part of his agenda. The plan would block a potential presidential third term and ban U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from wearing masks.
The Senate race has received national attention, with fundraising for these top-three candidates already reaching millions of dollars.
More Democratic candidates include Steve Botsword, former congressional staffer; Awisi Quartey Bustos, former CEO of the Illinois Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs; Jonathan Dean, a lawyer and solar energy entrepreneur; Christopher Swann, a deacon and nonprofit leader; and Bryan Maxwell, a project engineer at the University’s Illinois Sustainable Technology Center.
Six other Democrats — attorney Sean Brown, Air Force veteran Adam Delgado, Marine Corps veteran Kevin Ryan, teacher for Chicago Public Schools Robert Palmer, Chicago Federation of Labor delegate Jump Shepherd and Chicago pastor Anthony Williams — have also entered the crowded primary race.
Among the Republican challengers are Pamela Denise Long, an occupational therapist and former political columnist for Newsweek; Don Tracy, former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party; and Jimmy Lee Tillman II, author and president of the Martin Luther King Republicans.
The five other Republicans who have filed petitions to run are South Dakota State University professor R. Cary Capparelli, 1971 graduate of The Grainger College of Engineering Casey Chlebek, Chicago resident CaSándra Claiborne, attorney Jeannie Evans and Air Force veteran John Goodman.
In addition to the Senate seat, all 118 of Illinois’ House seats will be on the ballot in 2026. The office of the governor will also be up for grabs as Pritzker runs for a third term.
