Illinois' 1st Congressional District

Illinois' 1st Congressional District

Incumbent

Jonathan Jackson

Assumed office: January 3, 2023

Illinois' 1st Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Jonathan Jackson (D).

As of the 2020 Census, Illinois representatives represented an average of 754,279 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 714,688 residents.

Elections

• 2030
• 2028
• 2026
• 2024
• 2022
• 2020
• 2018

See also: Illinois's 1st Congressional District election, 2030

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2028

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Incumbent Jonathan Jackson (D) is running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 17, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jonathan Jackson

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Joely Faren King (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Marcus Lewis (R) and Christian Maxwell (R) are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 17, 2026.

		Candidate
		Marcus Lewis
		Christian Maxwell

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Brian Kovaka (R)

See also: Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2024

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Incumbent Jonathan Jackson (D) defeated Marcus Lewis (R) in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jonathan Jackson (D)	65.8	208,398
		Marcus Lewis (R)	34.1	108,064
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0%	45

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 316,507
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Incumbent Jonathan Jackson (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jonathan Jackson	100.0	72,420

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 72,420
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Marcus Lewis (R) defeated Montelle Gaji (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marcus Lewis	80.0	15,282
		Montelle Gaji	20.0	3,814

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,096
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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See also: Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Jonathan Jackson (D) defeated Eric Carlson (R), Tori Nicholson (Independent), and Babette Peyton (Independent) in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jonathan Jackson (D)	67.0	159,142
		Eric Carlson (R)	33.0	78,258
	Submit photo	Tori Nicholson (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	13
		Babette Peyton (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	12

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 237,425
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Mitchel Davilo (Independent)

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jonathan Jackson	28.2	21,607
		Pat Dowell	19.0	14,594
		Karin Norington-Reaves	14.1	10,825
		Jacqueline Collins	12.1	9,299
		Chris Butler	5.4	4,141
		Jahmal Cole	5.3	4,045
		Jonathan Swain	3.3	2,554
		Michael Thompson	2.2	1,680
	Submit photo	Charise Williams	2.1	1,601
		Cassandra Goodrum	1.9	1,422
		Marcus Lewis	1.2	901
		Robert Palmer	1.2	899
	Submit photo	Nykea Pippion McGriff	1.2	892
		Terre Layng Rosner	1.0	780
	Submit photo	Ameena Nuur Matthews	0.9	686
		Kirby Birgans	0.7	511
		Steven DeJoie	0.3	251

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 76,688
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• J. Darnell Jones (D)
• Darius Dee Nix (D)
• Michael Payne (D)
• Stephany Rose Spaulding (D)
• Howard Spiller (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Eric Carlson (R) defeated Jeff Regnier (R), Geno Young (R), and Philanise White (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Eric Carlson	40.5	10,755
		Jeff Regnier	39.0	10,375
	Submit photo	Geno Young	14.5	3,853
		Philanise White	6.0	1,598

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 26,581
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Matthew O'Keefe (R)

See also: Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Incumbent Bobby Rush (D) defeated Philanise White (R) and Ruth Pellegrini (Independent) in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bobby Rush (D)	73.8	239,943
		Philanise White (R)	26.2	85,027
		Ruth Pellegrini (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	153

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 325,123
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Incumbent Bobby Rush (D) defeated Sarah Gad (D), Robert Emmons Jr. (D), and Ameena Nuur Matthews (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 17, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bobby Rush	71.5	94,863
		Sarah Gad	10.4	13,783
		Robert Emmons Jr.	10.3	13,628
	Submit photo	Ameena Nuur Matthews	7.8	10,409

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 132,683
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Darnell Leatherwood (D)
• Robert Palmer (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Philanise White (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 17, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Philanise White	100.0	10,134

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,134
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Lynn Franco (R)
• Jimmy Lee Tillman II (R)
• John Wassenaar (R)

See also: Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Incumbent Bobby Rush (D) defeated Jimmy Lee Tillman II (R) and Thomas Rudbeck (Independent) in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bobby Rush (D)	73.5	189,560
		Jimmy Lee Tillman II (R)	19.8	50,960
		Thomas Rudbeck (Independent)	6.7	17,365

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 257,885 (100% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Incumbent Bobby Rush (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 20, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bobby Rush	100.0	104,114

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 104,114
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Howard Brookins (D)
• Demond Drummer (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Jimmy Lee Tillman II (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 20, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jimmy Lee Tillman II	100.0	15,389

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 15,389
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Anthony Granata (R)

Previous election results

2016

See also: Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Bobby Rush (D) defeated August (O'Neill) Deuser (R) and Tabitha Carson (L write-in) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Rush defeated Patrick Brutus and Howard Brookins in the Democratic primary on March 15, 2016, while Deuser defeated Jimmy Lee Tillman II to win the Republican nomination.

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bobby Rush Incumbent	74.1%	234,037
	Republican	August (O'Neill) Deuser	25.9%	81,817
	N/A	Write-in	0%	8
Total Votes				315,862
Source: Illinois State Board of Elections

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 Democratic Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Bobby Rush Incumbent	71.4%	128,402
Howard Brookins	19.3%	34,645
Patrick Brutus	9.3%	16,696
Total Votes		179,743
Source: Illinois State Board of Elections

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
August Deuser	73.8%	24,584
Jimmy Lee Tillman	26.2%	8,737
Total Votes		33,321
Source: Illinois State Board of Elections

2014

See also: Illinois' 1st Congressional District elections, 2014

The 1st Congressional District of Illinois held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Bobby Rush (D) defeated challenger Jimmy Lee Tillman II (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bobby Rush Incumbent	73.1%	162,268
	Republican	Jimmy Lee Tillman	26.9%	59,749
Total Votes				222,017
Source: Illinois State Board of Elections Official Results

General election candidates

• Jimmy Lee Tillman II
• Bobby Rush - Incumbent

March 18, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary

• Jimmy Lee Tillman IIa

Democratic Primary

• Bobby Rush - Incumbenta

2012

See also: Illinois' 1st Congressional District elections, 2012

The 1st Congressional District of Illinois held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Bobby Rush won re-election in the district.

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bobby Rush Incumbent	73.8%	236,854
	Republican	Donald Peloquin	26.2%	83,989
Total Votes				320,843
Source: Illinois Board of Elections "2012 General Election Official Vote Totals"

2010
On November 2, 2010, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Raymond G. Wardingley (R) and Jeff Adams (Green) in the general election.

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bobby L. Rush incumbent	80.4%	148,170
	Republican	Raymond G. Wardingley	15.9%	29,253
	Green	Jeff Adams	3.8%	6,963
Total Votes				184,386

2008
On November 4, 2008, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Antoine Members (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bobby L. Rush incumbent	85.9%	233,036
	Republican	Antoine Members	14.1%	38,361
Total Votes				271,397

2006
On November 7, 2006, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jason E. Tabour (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bobby L. Rush incumbent	84.1%	146,623
	Republican	Jason E. Tabour	15.9%	27,804
Total Votes				174,427

2004
On November 2, 2004, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Raymond G. Wardingley (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bobby L. Rush incumbent	84.9%	212,109
	Republican	Raymond G. Wardingley	15.1%	37,840
Total Votes				249,949

2002
On November 5, 2002, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Raymond G. Wardingley (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bobby L. Rush incumbent	83.4%	149,068
	Republican	Raymond G. Wardingley	16.6%	29,776
Total Votes				178,844

2000
On November 7, 2000, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Raymond G. Wardingley (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bobby L. Rush incumbent	87.8%	172,271
	Republican	Raymond G. Wardingley	12.2%	23,915
Total Votes				196,186

1998
On November 3, 1998, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Marlene White Ahimaz (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 1998
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bobby L. Rush incumbent	89.2%	151,890
	Republican	Marlene White Ahimaz	10.8%	18,429
Total Votes				170,319

1996
On November 5, 1996, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Noel Naughton (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bobby L. Rush incumbent	87.1%	174,005
	Republican	Noel Naughton	12.9%	25,659
Total Votes				199,664

1994
On November 8, 1994, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated William J. Kelly (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 1994
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bobby L. Rush incumbent	75.7%	112,474
	Republican	William J. Kelly	24.3%	36,038
Total Votes				148,512

District map

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in Illinois after the 2020 census

Illinois enacted a congressional map on November 24, 2021, after Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed the proposal into law. The Illinois State Senate voted 41-18 in favor of the map on October 28, 2021, followed by the Illinois House of Representatives voting 71-43 in favor on October 29, 2021.

How does redistricting in Illinois work? The Illinois General Assembly is responsible for drawing both congressional and state legislative district lines. Both chambers of the state legislature must approve a redistricting plan. The governor may veto the lines drawn by the state legislature.

In the event that both chambers of the state legislature do not approve a legislative redistricting plan, a backup commission must draw the lines. The majority and minority leaders of each chamber must appoint two members each to the commission (one legislator and one general citizen). Of the eight commission members, no more than four may belong to the same political party. In the event that these eight members cannot approve a plan, the Illinois Supreme Court must select two individuals (from different political parties) as potential tiebreakers. The secretary of state must then appoint one of these individuals to the backup commission to break the tie.

The Illinois Constitution requires that state legislative districts be "contiguous and reasonably compact." There are no such requirements in place for the state's congressional districts.

State law also mandates the establishment of state legislative districts "that allow racial or language minority communities to elect--or influence the election of--the candidates of their choice, even if no comparable district would be required by the federal Voting Rights Act."

2020

2024

2010-2011

This is the 1st Congressional District of Illinois after the 2001 redistricting process.

See also: Redistricting in Illinois after the 2010 census

In 2011, the Illinois State Legislature re-drew the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2026

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is D+18. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 18 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Illinois' 1st the 75th most Democratic district nationally.

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+20. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 20 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Illinois' 1st the 65th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 70.5%-28.1%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+20. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 20 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Illinois' 1st the 63rd most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 70.5% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 28.1%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+27. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 27 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Illinois' 1st Congressional District the 35th most Democratic nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.83. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.83 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in Illinois
• Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2024
• Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2022
• Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2020
• Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• District map (as of 113th Congress) from GovTrack.us

Footnotes

[show]

Illinois' current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Tammy Duckworth (D)

Dick Durbin (D)

Representatives

District 1

Jonathan Jackson (D)

District 2

Robin Kelly (D)

District 3

Delia Ramirez (D)

District 4

Jesus Garcia (D)

District 5

Mike Quigley (D)

District 6

Sean Casten (D)

District 7

Danny Davis (D)

District 8

Raja Krishnamoorthi (D)

District 9

Jan Schakowsky (D)

District 10

Brad Schneider (D)

District 11

Bill Foster (D)

District 12

Mike Bost (R)

District 13

Nikki Budzinski (D)

District 14

Lauren Underwood (D)

District 15

Mary Miller (R)

District 16

Darin LaHood (R)

District 17

Eric Sorensen (D)

Democratic Party (16)

Republican Party (3)