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Illinois' 12th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Republican primary)
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| Illinois' 12th Congressional District |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: November 3, 2025 |
| Primary: March 17, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
6 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Race ratings |
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th • 13th • 14th • 15th • 16th • 17th Illinois elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 |
A Republican Party primary takes place on March 17, 2026, in Illinois' 12th Congressional District to determine which Republican candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
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A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Illinois, state law provides for a closed primary where a voter must be affiliated with a party to vote in that party's primary. However, voters state their affiliation at the polls and any voter may change their affiliation on the day of the primary. A voter's eligibility to vote a party's ballot may be challenged.[1]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
This page focuses on Illinois' 12th Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- Illinois' 12th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)
- Illinois' 12th Congressional District election, 2026
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 12
Incumbent Mike Bost and Michael Tabacchi are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 12 on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Mike Bost | |
 | Michael Tabacchi  | |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I graduated from Nashville Community High School in 1977,and played on its golf team four years. I graduated from SIU-Carbondale's College of Business and Administraton 1982. In my mid-20s, I was an active member in Toastmasters International. I was employed as a civilian Budget Analyst for seven years with the U.S. Department of Army. I have lived in Bad Kreuznach and Stuttgart, Germany. I now live in Nashville. My dad, Ray Tabacchi was inducted into the SIU-Carbondale Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017. My mom, Jean Heern Nichols, is from Makanda. I have two sisters and two brothers-in-law I have a visual disability. It was diagnosed as retinal dystrophy in 2022. However, this condition has not prevented me from living a full life nor being a contributon to my country. I had the highest honor and good fortune of serving my country with the U.S. Army Europe & 7th Army during the final days of the Cold War. I have political experience at the local level. I was elected Board Member for the Middletown Area Town Hall - MATH - serving South Lake County, California. MATH was extensively focused on safety, public health and land use issues. I also completed the educational requirements and graduated from the Academy for Coaching Excellence in Sacrament, California. A run for Congress has been a goal for 45 years. I believe God is supporting me as I take on the biggest challenge of my life. I will defeat Congressman Mike Bost in the Primary Election."
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Illinois
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Bost | Republican Party | $431,486 | $285,562 | $498,219 | As of June 30, 2025 |
| Michael Tabacchi | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
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Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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District analysis
This section will contain facts and figures related to this district's elections when those are available.
Ballot access
This section will contain information on ballot access related to this state's elections when it is available.
See also
- Illinois' 12th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)
- Illinois' 12th Congressional District election, 2026
- United States House elections in Illinois, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primaries)
- United States House elections in Illinois, 2026 (March 17 Republican primaries)
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2026
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2026
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2026
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2026
External links
Footnotes
