This St. Patrick’s Day, Will 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 is Nov. 3. Candidates began filing Monday.

Editor’s Note: The list of candidates will be updated at that time. Campaigns can also contact Emily Coleman at ecoleman@shawmedia.com if they notice their candidate is missing.

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 and former state Sen. Darren Bailey have filed as Republicans. Former gubernatorial candidate and Max Solomon, Barrington Hills real estate developer and Gold Rush Gaming owner Rick Heidner have also said they plan to run as Republicans.

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

Illinois secretary of state: Alexi Giannoulias, an incumbent Democrat, has filed to run for reelection. Diane Harris, a Joliet Junior College trustee, and Walter Adamczyk are running 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, and state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego have filed to run as Democrats. Champaign County Auditor George Danos, former state Sen. Rickey Hendon, have also said they are running as Democrats and Bryan Drew as a Republican.

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 has filed to run as a Republican and 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 and Jump Shepherd of North Riverside as Democrats. Several other candidates also have announced their intention to run, including Christopher A. Swann, Stanley Leavell, Awisi Bustos and Adam Delgado on the Democratic side and former Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy, John Goodman, Pamela Denise Long, Lloyd Jones, Jimmy Lee Tillman and R. Cary Capparelli on the Republican. Independents Tyrone Muhammad and Austin J. Mink also 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 1: Jonathan Jackson, a Democrat representing parts of Cook, Kankakee and Will counties, is running for reelection. Marcus Lewis of Matteson and Christian Maxwell of Chicago have filed as Republicans.
• District 2: Robin Kelly, a Democrat representing parts of Champaign, Cook, Ford, Iroquois, Kankakee, Livingston, Vermilion and Will counties, is not seeking reelection and instead running for the U.S. Senate. Robert Peters of Chicago, Eric France of Lynwood, Donna Miller of Lynwood, Yumeka Brown of Matteson, Willie Preston of Chicago and Jesse Louis Jackson, Jr. of Chicago have filed to run as Democrats and Ashley Ramos of Clifton as a Republican.
• 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 and Michael Pierce of Naperville 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 Will County, that includes:

• District 14: Emil Jones III, a Democrat representing Cook and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 15: Napoleon Harris III, a Democrat representing Cook, Kankakee and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 17: Elgie R. Sims Jr., a Democrat representing Cook, Kankakee and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 21: Laura Ellman, a Democrat representing DuPage and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 38: Sue Rezin, a Republican representing Bureau, DeKalb, Grundy, Kendall, La Salle and Will counties, is running for reelection.
• District 41: Senate Minority Leader John F. Curran, a Republican representing Cook, DuPage and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 42: Linda Holmes, a Democrat representing DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 53: Chris Balkema, a Republican representing Bureau, Grundy, La Salle, Livingston, Putnam and Will counties, among others, has filed to run again.

Illinois House of Representatives: All state representative seats are up every two years. Among the races in Will County are:

• District 27: Justin Slaughter, a Democrat representing Cook and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection
• District 29: Thaddeus Jones, a Democrat representing Cook, Kankakee and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 34: Nicholas K. Smith, a Democrat representing Cook, Kankakee and Will counties, is not running for reelection. Cleopatra “Cleo” Cowley and Aja Kearney, both of Chicago, filed to run as Democrats.
• District 37: Patrick Sheehan, a Republican representing Cook and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 38: Debbie Meyers-Martin, a Democrat representing Cook and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 41: Janet Yang Rohr, a Democrat representing DuPage and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 75: Jed Davis, a Republican representing DeKalb, Grundy, Kendall, La Salle and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 79: Jackie Haas, a Republican representing Cook, Grundy, Kankakee and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 80: Anthony DeLuca, a Democrat representing Cook and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• 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.
• District 85: Dagmara “Dee” Avelar, a Democrat representing DuPage and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 86: Lawrence “Larry” Walsh Jr., a Democrat representing Will County, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 97: Harry Benton, a Democrat representing Kendall and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection. Gabby Shanahan of Joliet has filed as a Republican.
• District 98: Natalie A. Manley, a Democrat representing Will County, has filed to run for reelection. Kyle A. Moore of Quincy filed to run as a Republican.
• District 106: Jason R. Bunting, a Republican representing Grundy, La Salle, Livingston and Will, among other counties, is running for reelection.

County-level races: Also on the ballot will be County Board members, county clerks, treasurers, sheriffs, assessors, and regional superintendents. Some counties also elect their Boards of Review, sanitary districts, and forest preserve district commissioners and president

What judicial races will I get to vote on?

Three vacancies are up at the Illinois appellate court level, according to an Illinois State Board of Elections list as of Sept. 3. Voters will also get to vote on retentions.

The appellate vacancies include a seat on the Third Appellate District. The district sits in Ottawa and includes Bureau, La Salle, DuPage, Will, Grundy, Kankakee, and Iroquois counties. Margaret “Peggy” O’Connell of Lisle and John Pavich of Frankfort has filed to run as Democrats and Jason A. Helland of Mazon has filed as a Republican.

Three vacancies are also up in Will County’s 12th Circuit, one each in the 1st, 3rd and 5th subcircuits.

John Paul Ivec of Plainfield has filed to run a Republican for the Carlson vacancy in the 1st Subcircuit. Sonni Choi Williams of Lockport filed to run as a Democrat for the Anderson vacancy on the 3rd Subcircuit. Erin O’Brien of Frankford and Art Smigielski of Homer Glen filed as Republicans for the Petrungaro vacancy in the 5th Subcircuit.

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.