Candidates hoping for a spot on the 2026 primary election ballots are expected to line up Monday outside the Illinois State Board of Elections in Springfield. Monday is the first day of the filing period for Democrats and Republicans seeking state and federal offices in Illinois.

While some states will be headed to the polls for general elections in 2025, Illinois voters will have the fall to regroup before the new election season begins.

Democrat and Republican candidates seeking office began to file paperwork for the 2026 Illinois primary. Candidates have one week to turn in their signatures. This morning in Springfield, Governor JB Pritzker stood next to his running mate former Deputy Governor Christian Mitchell to file his petition for a third term.

SPRINGFIELD U.S. Representative Mike Bost’s campaign filed for re-election Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, at the Illinois State Board of Elections headquarters

ILLINOIS Today marks the first day candidates across Illinois can file to appear on the ballot in the 2026 primary elections.The filing period for “established

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is among his fellow Democrats who believe President Donald Trump will try and “steal” the 2026 election.

U.S. Representative Mike Bost’s announces his campaign filed for re-election Monday at the Illinois State Board of Elections headquarters in Springfield. Rep. Bost

As of August, a total of 17 challengers started their campaigns to take the seat that Durbin has held for nearly 30 years. As of Oct. 23, seven new candidates had also entered the race, according to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), increasing the field to 24 contenders.

The board, which is split along party lines, is grappling with how and when campaign contribution limits apply to big-money Illinois campaigns.

The Illinois State Board of Elections split evenly along party lines on whether Democratic Senate President Don Harmon should pay nearly $10 million for violating state campaign finance laws he

The next presidential election is still three years away, but the constant shift in Illinois’ Electoral College vote has been fascinating to watch.

Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat, contributed $100,001 to his own campaign in January 2023. His lawyers argued that move should have busted the caps until his name next appeared on the ballot, which it has not since the Senate president made the move.