This St. Patrick’s Day, Kane County voters can head to the polls in addition to sampling a green beer.

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

The deadline for candidates to file was Nov. 3.

Who has filed?

Illinois governor and lieutenant governor: Incumbent JB Pritzker, a Democrat, has filed to run for reelection. He has named Christian Mitchell as his running mate after Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton announced her intention to run for the U.S. Senate.

Conservative research group Wirepoints president Ted Dabrowski, DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, former state Sen. Darren Bailey, Gregg Moore of Broadview, Gold Rush Gaming owner Rick Heidner of Barrington Hills, Max Solomon of Hazel Crest and Joseph Severino of Lake Forest have filed as Republicans. Patricia L. Tillman of Chicago has filed as a Democrat.

Illinois attorney general: Incumbent Kwame Raoul, a Democrat, has filed to run for another term. Former Chicago alderman Bob Fioretti and Andy Williams Jr. of Darien have filed to run as Republicans.

Illinois secretary of state: Alexi Giannoulias, an incumbent Democrat, has filed to run for reelection. Walter Adamczyk of Chicago and Joliet Junior College Trustee Diane M. Harris filed to run as Republicans.

Illinois comptroller: Incumbent Susana Mendoza, a Democrat, is not running again. State Sen. Karina Villa of West Chicago, Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim of Mundelein, state Rep. Margaret Croke of Chicago, state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego and Champaign County Auditor George Danos have filed to run as Democrats and and Bryan Drew of Benton as a Republican. Former state Sen. Rickey Hendon has also said he is running as a Democrat.

Illinois treasurer: Incumbent Michael Frerichs, a Democrat, has filed to run for a fourth term.

U.S. Senate: Incumbent Dick Durbin, a Democrat, is not seeking reelection.

Casey Chlebek, former Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy, R. Cary Capparelli of Chicago, CaSándra Claiborne of Chicago, Pamela Denise Long of Edwardsville, Jimmy Lee Tillman II of Chicago, Jeannie Evans of Chicago and John Goodman of Des Plaines have filed to run as Republicans.

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton of Chicago, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg, Kevin Ryan of Chicago, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Lynwood, Steve Botsford Jr. of Chicago, Jump Shepherd of North Riverside, Jonathan Dean of Chicago, Sean Brown of Orland Park, Bryan Maxwell of Urbana, Adam Delgado of Chicago, Anthony W. Williams of Dolton, Awisi A. Bustos of Springfield, Robert Palmer of Chicago and Christopher A. Swann of Chicago as Democrats. Independents Tyrone Muhammad and Austin J. Mink have also said they are running.

U.S. House of Representatives: All 17 members of Congress representing Illinois are up in 2026. To find what district you live in, go to congress.gov/members/find-your-member.

• District 8: Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat representing parts of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties, is not seeking reelection and instead running for the U.S. Senate. Neil Khot of Hoffman Estates, Kevin B. Morrison of Mount Prospect, Junaid Ahmed of South Barrington, Ryan Vetticad of South Barrington, Melissa L. Bean of Barrington, Yasmeen Bankole of Hanover Park, Dan Tully of Carol Stream and Sanjyot Dunnug of Des Plaines have filed as Democrats. Mark Rice of Arlington Heights, Jennifer Davis of Huntley, Kevin Ake of Elk Grove Village and Herbert Hebein of Chicago have filed as Republicans.
• District 11: Bill Foster, a Democrat representing parts of Boone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will, has filed to run for reelection. Jeff Walter of Elburn, Michael Pierce of Naperville, Charlie Kim of Aurora and Tedora Brown of Palos Park have filed as Republicans.
• District 14: Lauren Underwood, a Democrat representing parts of Bureau, DeKalb, Kane, Kendall, La Salle, Putnam and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection. Gary Vician of Naperville and James T. “Jim” Marter of Oswego have filed to run as Republicans.

Illinois State Senate: Like its federal counterpart, only some of its members are up for reelection this year. In Kane County, that includes:

• District 26: Darby A. Hills, a Republican representing Cook, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties, has filed to run for reelection. Hills was appointed in February 2025 to fill out the remainder of Dan McConchie’s term. Nabeela Syed of Inverness has filed as a Democrat.
• District 32: Craig Wilcox, a Republican representing Lake and McHenry counties, has filed to run for reelection. Karen Battaglia of Antioch has filed to run as a Democrat.
• District 33: Don DeWitte, a Republican representing Kane, DuPage and McHenry counties, is not running for reelection. Michele Clark of Algonquin and Satnaam Singh Mago of Wayne have filed to run as Democrats and Danielle Penman of St. Charles, Jessica Breugelmans of Geneva and Cody Holt of Elgin have filed as Republicans.
• District 35: Dave Syverson, a Republican representing Boone, DeKalb, Kane, McHenry and Winnebago counties, has filed to run for reelection. Sarah B. Mertens of Crystal Lake filed as a Democrat.
• District 42: Linda Holmes, a Democrat representing DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection. Justin H.S. Breaux of Aurora also filed as a Democrat and Edgardo “Eddie” Perez of Aurora filed as a Republican.

Illinois House of Representatives: All state representative seats are up every two years. The races in Kane County include:

• District 43: Anna Moeller, a Democrat representing Cook and Kane counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 49: Maura Hirschauer, a Democrat representing Cook, Kane and DuPage counties, has filed to run for reelection. John Paul Augustynowicz of Warrenville has filed as a Republican.
• District 50: Barbara Hernandez, a Democrat representing Kane and DuPage counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 52: Martin McLaughlin, a Republican representing Cook, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties, has filed to run for reelection. Erin Chan Ding of South Barrington and Maria Peterson of North Barrington have filed to run as Democrats.
• District 65: Dan Ugaste, a Republican representing DuPage and Kane counties, has filed to run for reelection. Ricky Rivard of St. Charles has filed to run as a Democrat.
• District 66: Suzanne M. Ness, a Democrat representing Kane and McHenry counties, has filed to run for reelection. Laurie Parman of Sleepy Hollow filed as a Republican.
• District 70: Jeff Keicher, a Republican representing DeKalb, Kane and McHenry counties, has filed to run for reelection. Veronica Garcia-Martinez of Cortland has filed to run as a Democrat.
• District 83: Matt Hanson, a Democrat representing Kane and Kendall counties, has filed to run for reelection. Jesse Rodriguez of Aurora has filed to run as a Republican.
• District 84: Stephanie A. Kifowit, a Democrat representing DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties, is not running for reelection as she is running for comptroller. Saba Haider and Jared Ploger, both of Aurora, have filed to run as Democrats and Brian Scopa of Naperville has filed to run as a Republican.

What races are up at the county level?

Kane County Clerk: Incumbent John A. “Jack” Cunningham has filed to run again as a Republican and Brian Pollock of Aurora and Brenda Rodgers of Elgin filed as Democrats.

Sheriff: Incumbent Sheriff Ron Hain, a Democrat, is not seeking reelection. Former Kane County Coroner Rob Russell and Elburn Village Trustee Luis “Lou” Santoyo filed to run as Republicans and sheriff’s sergeant Andrew Schwab of Batavia, Salvador Rodriguez of Sugar Grove and Undersheriff Amy Johnson filed as Democrats.

County Treasurer: Incumbent Chris Lauzen filed to run as a Republican and Penny Wegman, Connie Cain and Scott Johansen filed as Democrats.

Regional Superintendent: John K. Jonak, who was appointed this summer to serve the remainder of Patricia Dal Santo’s term, filed to run. as a Republican.

County Board:

• District 1: Myrna Molina filed as a Democrat.
• District 2: Ellen Nottke, Kimberley M. Young and Martha Davidson filed as Democrats for an unexpired two-year term.
• District 3: Anita Marie Lewis and Danny B. Perez filed as Democrats.
• District 5: Bill Lenert filed as a Republican and Philip Silagi as a Democrat.
• District 7: Alex Arroyo filed as a Democrat.
• District 9: Jeffrey R. Magnussen and Jennifer Abbatacola filed as Republicans and Marc A. Guttke as a Democrat.
• District 11: Julie Forbes and Leslie N. Juby filed as Democrats.
• District 13: Ryan Deniz and Anthony Louis Catella filed as Republicans and Nicolas G. “Nico” Jimenez and Michael Linder as Democrats.
• District 15: David Young filed as a Republican and Kate Monteleone as a Democrat.
• District 17: Deborah Willis and Deborah Allan filed as Democrats.
• District 19: Steve Serafin filed as a Republican and Mohammad “Mo” Iqbal as a Democrat.
• District 21: Clifford Surges filed as a Republican and Deborah Chabi as a Democrat.
• District 23: Emmanuel Thomas filed as a Republican and Christopher W. Kious as a Democrat.

What judicial races will I get to vote on?

Three vacancies are up at the Illinois appellate court level but none in the district that includes Kane County, according to an Illinois State Board of Elections list as of Sept. 3. Voters will also get to vote on retentions.

Important Dates

Oct. 27 to Nov. 3, 2025: Candidates in established parties can file the necessary documents either at the Springfield office for state-level candidates or at the County Clerk’s Office in the county where they’re running.

Among the paperwork required is a statement of candidacy and petitions signed by registered voters. The number of signatures required varies by office.

Nov. 10: Last day for objections challenging whether candidates can appear on the ballot to be filed.

Nov. 17 to 24: Filing period for candidates seeking to fill judicial vacancies.

Dec. 3: Deadline to file objections in judicial vacancy races.

Dec. 15: Deadline to file petitions for referendums to appear on the March ballot. This does not include referendum questions authorized by local governments, just ones submitted through voter-signed petitions.

Dec. 17: First day to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot.

Dec. 22: Deadline to file objections on referendum questions.

Dec. 29: Deadline for local government boards – like school boards and city councils – to adopt a resolution or ordinance for a binding referendum.

Jan. 8, 2026: Last day for a candidate to withdraw from the race.

Jan. 15: Last day for a candidate to file as a write-in.

Feb. 5: Early voting starts and county clerks begin mailing vote-by-mail ballots.

March 1: Last day to register to vote online through the State Board of Elections’ website. Grace period registration and voting continues through Election Day.

March 17: Election Day for the 2026 primary. Polls close at 7 p.m. Voters can request a partisan ballot with either Democratic or Republican candidates listed or a non-partisan ballot, which includes any referendums.