Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to choose Democratic and Republican nominees for everything from the U.S. Senate and governor to statehouses and county offices, ending an expensive and often tumultuous primary season.
Polling stations will be open from 6am to 7pm, and those planning to vote in the morning will receive weather warnings.
“Election Day is looking very windy and cold, but no precipitation,” retired broadcast meteorologist Tom Skilling told the Tribune. “It’s unseasonably cold — highs are in the low to mid-20s — and moderately windy, especially in the morning. Voters must dress warmly.”
Skilling expected temperatures to reach around 10 degrees at dawn, with a high of 21 degrees in the afternoon. But he said “wind chills will be around 5 degrees when we open on Election Day and ‘warm up’ to over 10 degrees Tuesday afternoon.”
The forecast foreshadows a likely drop in turnout on Election Day among voters who have traditionally leaned more Republican and tended to support President Donald Trump’s opposition to early and mail-in voting, practices that are largely supported by Democrats.
But the weather also complicated late campaign work. Unstable weather in the state on Sunday forced the cancellation of an event that included Gov. JB Pritzker, who is seeking a third term, and his two-term running mate Juliana Stratton, who is seeking the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination.
Heavy snowfall on Monday forced Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey to cancel planned flights to six cities in the state on Tuesday. Instead, he arranged a virtual evening event.
While the weather is so volatile, so are TV and streaming ads and political mailings from candidates and special interest groups seeking to influence voters. Those campaigns will end with Tuesday’s vote but come after more than $92 million was spent in the U.S. Senate race and four open seat races for the U.S. House of Representatives, according to political ad tracking firm Ad Impact.
It was U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s decision not to seek a sixth term, along with the retirements of U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston and Danny Davis of Chicago, that set off a series of political contests in the primary.
U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg and Robin Kelly of Linwood join Stratton as the leading Democrats vying for the U.S. Senate nomination. But Krishnamoorty and Kelly’s decision to try to climb the political ladder during his six-year Senate term has also set up hotly contested races in his northwest suburban 8th District and hers in the South, south suburban and rural 2nd District.
A total of 46 people have applied for the Democratic nomination and 11 people have applied for the Republican nomination in the four districts of the U.S. House of Representatives. Given Democratic gerrymandering of the state’s congressional districts, the winner of the Democratic primary is heavily favored in the Nov. 3 general election.
Ten Democrats and one Republican are running primary elections for the 2nd Congressional District seat that Kelly has given up running for Senate. After Davis retired, the 7th Congressional District saw 13 Democrats and two Republicans running for office. Krishnamurti’s run for U.S. Senate results in a race in the 8th Congressional District with eight Democrats and four Republicans, while Schakowsky’s retirement in the 9th Congressional District opens the door to 15 Democrats and four Republicans.
In addition to Krishnamurthy, Kelly and Stratton, others seeking the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination are Kevin Ryan, Steve Botsford Jr., Brian Maxwell, Jonathan Dean, Sean Brown, Avisi Bustos and Christopher Swan.
Republican candidates vying for the U.S. Senate nomination include former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy; attorney Jeanne Evans; Casey Chlebek, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in 2020 and 2022; Pamela Dennis Long; Jimmy Lee Tillman II; and R. Cary Capparelli.
Four Democrats are also vying for the nomination for state comptroller, seeking to replace incumbent Susana Mendoza, who chose not to seek re-election. Democratic candidates for comptroller include state Rep. Margaret Crocker of Chicago, state Sen. Karina Vera of West Chicago, Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego and Lake County Treasurer Holly King.
Four Republicans are on the ballot for the GOP gubernatorial nomination: Bailey, the former congressman who ran unsuccessfully against Pritzker in 2022; Ted Dabrowski, the former head of the conservative activist group Wirepoints; Rick Heidner, a real estate and video gambling company owner; and James Mendrick of DuPage County. Pritzker, who is also eyeing a White House bid in 2028, ran unopposed in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
On the Democratic ticket in Cook County, Board President Toni Preckwinkle is seeking a fifth term against Ald. Brendan Riley, 42. Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi is running for a third term and faces a challenge from Lyon Township Assessor Pat Hynes.
In DuPage County, Mendrick’s decision to run for governor sets the stage for a primary for sheriff between Republican Deputy Sheriff Eddie Moore and former County Commission member Sean Noonan. Peter Coolidge faced no opposition on the Democratic side.
DuPage Democrats will also decide whether County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek should continue her bid for a third term against County Commission member Paula Deacon Garcia.
