Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2026

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Illinois' 1st Congressional District
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. Voting in Illinois
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Illinois' 1st Congressional District 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 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House raceArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House raceFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House raceOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House raceTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House raceVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House raceSubmit

All U.S. House districts, including the 1st Congressional District of Illinois, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is March 17, 2026. The filing deadline is November 3, 2025. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

• Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)
• Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Republican primary)

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

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 election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Incumbent Jonathan Jackson and Joely Faren King are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 17, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jonathan Jackson
		Joely Faren King

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

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

		Candidate
		Brian Kovaka
		Marcus Lewis
		Christian Maxwell

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= 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

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Illinois

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Jonathan Jackson	Democratic Party	$132,010	$166,876	$18,822	As of September 30, 2025
Joely Faren King	Democratic Party	$1,439	$542	$898	As of September 30, 2025
Brian Kovaka	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Marcus Lewis	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Christian Maxwell	Republican Party	$8,758	$288	$12,552	As of September 30, 2025
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." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

• Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
• Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
• Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.
• Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.

Race ratings: Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2026
Race tracker	Race ratings
	10/14/2025	10/7/2025	9/30/2025	9/23/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Pending	Pending	Pending	Pending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

This section will contain information on ballot access related to this state's elections when it is available.

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

2024

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

Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2024 (March 19 Republican primary)

Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2024 (March 19 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Incumbent Jonathan Jackson defeated Marcus Lewis 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

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 316,507
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

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

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jonathan Jackson	100.0	72,420

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 72,420
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Marcus Lewis defeated Montelle Gaji 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

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,096
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2022

See also: Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Jonathan Jackson defeated Eric Carlson, Tori Nicholson, and Babette Peyton 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

---

	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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Mitchel Davilo (Independent)

Democratic primary election

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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Eric Carlson defeated Jeff Regnier, Geno Young, and Philanise White 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Matthew O'Keefe (R)

2020

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

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Incumbent Bobby Rush defeated Philanise White and Ruth Pellegrini 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.
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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Incumbent Bobby Rush defeated Sarah Gad, Robert Emmons Jr., and Ameena Nuur Matthews 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

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 132,683
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1

Philanise White 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.
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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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

District analysis

This section will contain facts and figures related to this district's elections when those are available.

See also

Illinois	2026 primaries	2026 U.S. Congress elections
Illinois congressional delegation Voting in Illinois Illinois elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018	Democratic primary battlegrounds Republican primary battlegrounds U.S. Senate Democratic primaries U.S. Senate Republican primaries U.S. House Democratic primaries U.S. House Republican primaries	U.S. Congress elections U.S. Senate elections U.S. House elections Special elections Ballot access

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

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)

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