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2026 Illinois gubernatorial election

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For related races, see 2026 United States gubernatorial elections.

2026 Illinois gubernatorial election
← 2022
November 3, 2026
2030 →
 
Nominee JB Pritzker Darren Bailey
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate Christian Mitchell Aaron Del Mar
Incumbent governor

JB Pritzker
Democratic



The 2026 Illinois gubernatorial election will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Illinois. Democratic incumbent JB Pritzker is seeking a third term. He is being challenged by Republican former nominee Darren Bailey.

Primary elections were held on March 17, 2026.[1] Pritzker secured the Democratic nomination unopposed, while Darren Bailey secured the Republican nomination with 54% of the vote.[2] Pritzker selected Christian Mitchell as his running mate, as incumbent lieutenant governor Julianna Stratton is running for U.S. Senate.

This is the first gubernatorial rematch in Illinois since 1986.

Background

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A moderately to strongly blue state, Illinois has a reputation for being both the most populous and the most left-leaning state in the Midwest, traits vastly owed to the progressive and diverse Chicago metropolitan area. Though the state has historically favored Republicans for governor, Democrats have won all but one gubernatorial race in Illinois since 2002, the exception being Bruce Rauner's narrow victory in 2014.[3] In addition, Democrats have won Illinois by double-digit margins in every presidential race since 1992; and consistently occupied all of its statewide offices since 2019.

Incumbent Governor JB Pritzker, a member of the Democratic Party, has comfortably won in the past two elections, having first been elected with a 15.6% lead in 2018[4] and won re-election by 12.5% in 2022.[5] Despite the state's strong Democratic lean, Republicans are comfortably favored in most of rural Illinois, especially in much of West Central and Southern Illinois. Illinois is one of 16 states that do not have gubernatorial term limits. If Pritzker were to win, he would be the first governor elected to a third term since Jim Thompson in 1982.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Nominee

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Disqualified

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Endorsements

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JB Pritzker
Labor unions
Organizations
Newspapers

Results

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Democratic primary results[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic
1,197,587 100.0
Total votes 1,197,587 100.0

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Nominee

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Eliminated in primary

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  • Ted Dabrowski, conservative news website president[20]
  • Rick Heidner, real estate developer[22]
  • James Mendrick, DuPage County Sheriff (2018–present)[23]
    • Running mate: Robert Renteria, author and businessman[24]

Withdrawn

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Disqualified

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Declined

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Endorsements

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Darren Bailey
Newspapers
Ted Dabrowski
State legislators
Local officials
James Mendrick
Local officials
  • 3 county sheriffs[28]
Declined to endorse
Newspapers

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Darren
Bailey 		Ted
Dabrowski 		Rick
Heidner 		James
Mendrick 		Other Undecided
Osage Research (R)[33][A] January 20–23, 2026 412 (LV) ± 5.7% 57% 8% 9% 4% – 22%
Emerson College/WGN-TV[34] January 3–5, 2026 432 (LV) ± 4.7% 34% 8% 1% 5% 4%[b] 46%

Results

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Results by county
  Bailey
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  •   90–100%
  Dabrowski
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
Republican primary results[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican
304,162 53.3
Republican
  • Ted Dabrowski
  • Carrie Mendoza
 165,229 28.9
Republican
  • James Mendrick
  • Robert Renteria
 54,599 9.6
Republican
  • Rick Heidner
  • Christina Neitzke-Troike
 46,374 8.1
Total votes 570,364 100.0

Independent candidates

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Declared

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  • Collin Corbett, former Republican campaign strategist[35]

General election

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[36] Solid D September 11, 2025
Inside Elections[37] Solid D August 28, 2025
Sabato's Crystal Ball[38] Safe D September 4, 2025
Race to the WH[39] Safe D September 16, 2025

Post-primary endorsements

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JB Pritzker (D)

Organizations

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		JB
Pritzker (D) 		Darren
Bailey (R) 		Undecided
Victory Research[42] November 20–24, 2025 1,208 (LV) ± 2.8% 54% 34% 12%

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. ^ Gregg Moore and Joseph Severino with 2%

Partisan clients

  1. ^ Poll sponsored by Bailey's campaign

References

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  1. ^ Illinois State Board of Elections. "Schedule of Future Elections" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2026. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  2. ^ "Illinois Governor Primary Results 2026". NBC News. Archived from the original on April 11, 2026. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  3. ^ Leip, David. "2014 Gubernatorial General Election Results – Illinois". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on April 4, 2025. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  4. ^ Leip, David. "2018 Gubernatorial General Election Results – Illinois". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on May 20, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  5. ^ Leip, David. "2022 Gubernatorial General Election Results – Illinois". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  6. ^ Armentrout, Mitchell (June 26, 2025). "Gov. JB Pritzker announces run for 3rd term to protect Illinois from 'chaos and craziness' of Trump". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
  7. ^ Cherone, Heather (July 1, 2025). "Pritzker Taps Former Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell as Running Mate". WTTW. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  8. ^ Bishop, Greg (December 9, 2025). "Pritzker unchallenged on Democrat primary ballot after Tillman removed by board". The Center Square. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  9. ^ "Illinois AFL-CIO 2026 Primary Election Endorsements". Politico. December 10, 2025. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  10. ^ "IUOE Local 150 District 1 Endorsements" (PDF). Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  11. ^ "2026 Local 399 Illinois Primary Election Endorsements" (PDF). Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  12. ^ "Illinois Primary Election Center / Información Electoral". Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  13. ^ "Elections & Endorsements". Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  14. ^ "Cook County Democratic Party Slate – 2026 Primary". July 18, 2025. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  15. ^ "Equality Illinois makes 72 pro-equality, pro-family endorsements for 2026 primary election". Windy City Times. January 15, 2026. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  16. ^ "2026 Democratic Primary Endorsements". January 25, 2026. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  17. ^ "Chicago Crusader Endorsements for March Illinois Primary". The Chicago Crusader. March 13, 2026. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  18. ^ a b "Candidate Filing Search". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  19. ^ a b Ahern, MaryAnn (September 8, 2025). "Darren Bailey to seek Republican gubernatorial nomination". WMAQ-TV. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  20. ^ Szalinski, Ben (August 14, 2025). "New Republican to run for Illinois governor as election season begins". Capitol News Illinois. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  21. ^ Miller, Rich (September 12, 2025). "A quick briefing on Ted Dabrowski's running mate". Capitol Fax. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  22. ^ a b Kapos, Shia (October 21, 2025). "GOP governor's race heats up". Politico. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  23. ^ "DuPage Co. Sheriff James Mendrick to run for governor of Illinois". WLS-TV. February 27, 2025. Archived from the original on March 10, 2025. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  24. ^ Palermo, Gregg (June 30, 2025). "Pritzker on Lt. Gov. choice: 'You'll know who my pick is sometime soon'". Spectrum News. Retrieved July 2, 2025. The only declared Republican candidate for governor, DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, has selected author and activist Dr. Robert Renteria as his candidate for Lt. Gov.
  25. ^ a b Kapos, Shia (July 14, 2025). "Republicans lining up against Pritzker". Politico. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  26. ^ a b Szalinski, Ben (October 16, 2025). "Dabrowski sets fundraising bar at $1.5M in GOP primary for governor". Capitol News Illinois. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  27. ^ Kapos, Shia (January 12, 2026). "Bear down, reality roars back". Politico. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
  28. ^ a b c d e Talamonti, Jim (September 29, 2025). "WATCH: Former state lawmakers endorse, donors support GOP candidate Dabrowski". The Center Square. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  29. ^ Ahern, Mary Ann (August 4, 2025). "Darin LaHood won't run for Illinois governor, will focus on reelection to Congress". WMAQ-TV. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  30. ^ Schory, Brenda (July 10, 2025). "Geneva's Dan Ugaste a no-go for governor after all". Shaw Local. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  31. ^ "Daily Herald endorsement: Darren Bailey in GOP gubernatorial primary". Daily Herald. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  32. ^ "Editorial: Our thoughts on the Republican primary race for governor of Illinois". Chicago Tribune. February 22, 2026. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  33. ^ "GOP Primary – Polling Memo". Osage Research. January 29, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026 – via Politico.
  34. ^ "Illinois 2026 Poll: Krishnamoorthi Leads Democratic Senate Primary; Plurality Still Undecided". Emerson College Polling. January 8, 2026. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  35. ^ Szalinski, Ben (May 26, 2026). "Former Republican strategist Collin Corbett files to run for governor as independent". Capitol News Illinois. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  36. ^ "2026 CPR Governor Race ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  37. ^ "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  38. ^ "2026 Governor". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  39. ^ "Governor Forecast - 2026-2026". Race to the WH. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  40. ^ End Citizens United [@StopBigMoney] (May 27, 2026). "🚨ENDORSEMENT ALERT🚨 We're proud to endorse Illinois Governor @JBPritzker for re-election" (Tweet). Retrieved May 27, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  41. ^ "GIFFORDS PAC endorses Governor JB Pritzker and Christian Mitchell in Illinois". Giffords. April 23, 2026. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  42. ^ Ortiz, Alex (November 30, 2025). "Slight majority of Illinoisans approve of Gov. JB Pritzker as he seeks third term, poll finds". WFLD. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
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Official campaign websites
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