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Illinois' 7th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)

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2024
Illinois' 7th Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
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' 7th Congressional District
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th15th16th17th
Illinois elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

A Democratic Party primary takes place on March 17, 2026, in Illinois' 7th Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
November 3, 2025
March 17, 2026
November 3, 2026



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' 7th Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results


Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 7

The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 7 on March 17, 2026.


Candidate Connection = candidate completed 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.

Image of Jerico Brown

WebsiteFacebook

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


I’m Jerico Brown, and I’m running for Congress in Illinois’ 7th District to put our community’s needs first. With 14 years serving as a pastor and a lifelong commitment to affordable housing, violence prevention, and supporting the unhoused, I know what it means to stand up for people who need it most. Let’s build a future where everyone has a fair shot!


Our district deserves a representative who listens, acts, and leads with heart. I’m Jerico Brown—pastor, community leader, and your neighbor. My fight for affordable housing, mental health access, and a living wage comes from listening to you. Join our movement for change that’s powered by people, not politics!


Our community deserves leadership that puts people over politics. Donald Trump’s influence has held us back for too long. I’m Jerico Brown, and I’m running for Congress to restore integrity, compassion, and real progress in Washington. Together, we can turn the page and build a future that works for everyone.

Image of Thomas Fisher

WebsiteFacebookX

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography "Born and raised on the South Side, Dr. Fisher grew up in a home that emphasized service. Those motives shaped his life and he has spent two decades following this call to care for the community that raised him.That legacy inspired his path through Dartmouth, the University of Chicago School of Medicine, and Harvard University’s School of Public Health – and led him to emergency medicine, where he’s spent over two decades treating everyone, regardless of their background or means. But the ER is also where the consequences of bad policy show up: gun violence, housing insecurity, untreated addiction, and lack of care. That’s why Dr. Fisher took the fight upstream – as a White House Fellow during the rollout of the ACA, a Medicaid leader in Cook County, a healthcare executive focused on equity, and the author of The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER, a nationally acclaimed book exposing the injustices of our healthcare system. When COVID hit, Dr. Fisher returned full-time to the ER and what he saw inspired his acclaimed book, The Emergency, named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books. Through it all, he never stopped fighting for the people failed by our political system."


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


Profit should never decide who lives or dies. Whether facing cancer, recovering from a car crash, or simply trying to stay healthy — every one of us will be a patient one day. Healthcare must protect us when we’re most vulnerable. Instead, millions are being kicked off insurance, cures are being undermined, and the Trump Administration has corrupted the CDC. Life expectancy is now shorter than it was a decade ago with folks on the South and West Sides living thirty fewer years than those in Streeterville and the Gold Coast — proof we’re in a crisis. We must provide resources to stay healthy and build a healthcare system that puts people first, no matter who we are. Universal healthcare so everyone is covered. Period. Full stop.


Americans work hard and deliver record profits for corporations — but too many still struggle just to get by. Trump's tax breaks for millionaires come at the expense of millions losing health insurance. Again the rich get richer and the rest get nothing. My mother’s 30+ years with Chicago Public Schools meant stability and a secure retirement thanks to her union. Every worker deserves that same security. Today, wages lag while housing prices soar making it impossible for younger people to own a home and raise a family on a middle class salary. Families are squeezed by the rising cost of groceries, skyrocketing utility bills, and everyday essentials. It’s time to build an economy where working people come first — not corporations.


In more than 20 years taking care of people in the ER, I’ve never gotten used to caring for young men and women torn apart by gunfire. I’ve lost friends to violence — losses that still haunt me. While our trauma system saves lives, the scars remain: on bodies, on families, on our entire community. We can and must do better: . Background checks and an assault weapons ban to keep deadly weapons off our streets. . Coordinated community-based interventions led by those closest to the problem. . Support for survivors that prioritizes healing, justice, and mental health. No one should have to live in fear — or carry these scars for life.

Image of John McCombs

WebsiteFacebookYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography "I’m not a career politician. I’m not a Washington insider. I am a Veteran of the United States Marine Corps (2013-2017), a stand up comedian (2010-present) and a man who has always been curious about others. I grew up in Joliet, IL and throughout my public school education I wanted to get to know everyone, jumping from different social circles like Orchestra, Track, Cross Country, Youth Group, and JROTC. I also had a passion for challenges which is why I received an ROTC scholarship through the Marine Corps to attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I graduated from U of I with a degree in Creative Writing but my real education began in the Marines. There I first began understanding the tenets of steward leadership, to lead from the front, and to 'find a way or make a way'. After deployments to Romania and Spain I exited the Marines in 2017 and moved to Chicago to earnestly pursue a career in stand up comedy. During this time I worked as a rideshare driver, a proofreader, a communications specialist, and an attorney manager at a corporation but my passion was in comedy. Touring internationally and even locally taught me that most people agree on 95% of issues if we are able to look past labels. Empathy and compassion and diversity are strengths, not weaknesses. I'm running for office because ‘Patriotism’ isn’t living in a fairytale world where your country has no faults. It’s the belief that it can and should be better for EVERYONE."


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


Crafting an American economy that prioritizes people, not corporations. We as America can have a strong middle class. We can have a government that prioritizes people over profit. We can work a 40 (or dare I say, 35) hour work week and have enough to afford our rent, feed our families, send our kids to good schools, go to the doctor, and have enough money left over for our savings. We can make early childhood education affordable for all. We can make early childhood education affordable for all.


Delivering worry-free healthcare for everyone in America. We can have affordable healthcare where nobody has to go bankrupt because someone in their family got sick. We can have single payer insurance that prioritizes your health and life over maximizing ‘shareholder value’. We can have affordable medication that doesn’t cost 100x what you would pay in another country. We can have healthier communities.


Respecting the dignity of all Americans and aspiring Americans. We can have police forces that treat the communities they serve with respect and accountability. We can be a land of opportunity that attracts the best and brightest people from around the world to contribute to our great country. We can have strong borders while also having immigration enforcement that respects people’s rights. We can give honest, hardworking people who’ve been contributing members of their communities for years a pathway to citizenship that is fair and equitable.

Image of Jazmin Robinson

WebsiteFacebookXYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography "I’m Jazmin J. Robinson, and I’m running for U.S. House of Representatives in Illinois’ 7th District. For over a decade, I’ve worked in corporate America as a Human Resources leader focused on making workplaces fairer for employees. I built systems to ensure equal pay, negotiated with healthcare providers to secure better benefits, and designed policies that supported people through major life changes. I’ve also seen H.R.’s shortcomings and pushed for equity and accountability from within. The policy I’m running on, the H.E.A.L. Act (free universal Health Care, Education including childcare, college, and trade schools, Access to Government & Fair Markets, and a Living Wage), is essentially a benefit package I designed for the American people, just like I’ve done for employees throughout my career. It’s funded fairly by asking millionaires, billionaires, and big corporations to finally pay their share in taxes. My goal is simple: build a government that works for everyday people, not just the wealthy few. Outside of HR, I’m also a comedian and improviser, performing at places like Second City, iO, and now on iO’s first BIPOC house team, D.A.R.E Dropouts. Comedy has taught me the power of listening, quick thinking, and connecting with people. Personally, I’m happily married to my husband of eight years, with two spoiled cats. I’m a proud aunt, a blue belt in jiu jitsu, and someone who loves trying new things, from horseback riding to summer softball."


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


The H.E.A.L. Act puts people over the 1%. It ends billionaire, corporate, and lobbyist control of our government and invests in Americans for the long term. My goal is to lock this in as a constitutional amendment so it lasts for generations.


Investing in people is the best investment. When we fund healthcare, education, and fair wages, we improve well-being, spark innovation, and build stronger communities.


The H.E.A.L. Act is for all Americans. Even if you don’t live in my district, share it with your representatives. Real change only happens when we unite and demand a government that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.

Image of Reed Showalter

WebsiteFacebookXYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


We must make housing more affordable. Housing is the most expensive thing in our lives, and it's getting worse. In Chicago, housing costs are rising 4 times faster than the national average. To combat this injustice, we have to both recommit the federal government to building housing, as well as addressing the issues with the private market. I’ll push to have the government directly build more housing for people to sell at cost, so everyone can afford a home. I’ll fight to stop giant, for-profit investors from buying up homes just to get rich, not to live in them. I’ll ban big landlords from using the collusive algorithms that jack up rent prices for Chicagoans by over $450 a year.


We must fix our broken healthcare system, so that it is accessible and affordable for everyone. I support Medicare-for-All. In the meantime, as we build power to pass universal healthcare, I will work wherever possible to cap co-pays, deductibles, and out of pocket costs. I will fight to ban the middlemen that eat up profits in our pharmaceutical system or make them obsolete by doing that work ourselves. I will work to ban the corporate practice of medicine, expanding the existing bans in 33 states. And I will also push for our government to make critical drugs like insulin, inhalers, and chemo here in America, so we don’t have to depend on big pharma and insurance execs that hold healthcare hostage.


No one should struggle to afford food. We have a duty to take back power in our food system from giant multinational corporations and return it to local communities that need good, healthy, affordable, responsible food. I support the creation of public grocery stores, as well as expanding food assistance through these public institutions. I will fight to ban junk fees on grocery and food delivery. I support a moratorium on consolidation in Big Ag markets, as well as increased regulation of bad agricultural actors, so that giant corporations cannot continue to drive up the price of food. And I will work toward creative solutions to make fertilizer and other basic costs cheaper for farmers so food is cheaper for all of us.

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WebsiteFacebookYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography "I have been a member of the working class for my whole life. Working in restaurants and retail I have met countless excellent hard-working people from all over the world. Being uninsured for the entire time I worked in restaurants took a toll on me but it gave me a unique perspective of the world and the people in it. I decided to leave the culinary field to go back to school and get my BA in Paralegal Studies. While in school I did an internship with a company that helped people find representation when facing eviction and pointed them to renter's rights laws. I am very passionate about worker's rights as well, advocating for union representation in various workplaces. I spend my time away from work with my two dogs, Layla & Tracey. Or you can find me catching a movie at the Siskel or Music Box."


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


Getting support for the Working Class by increasing wages, access to healthcare, and guaranteed protections for health & safety. I witness the struggles of the Working Class everyday. People have to choose between going to work sick or losing their job, it's a never-ending cycle that is being made worse. We need to stop this and improve the situation immediately. $15/hr National minimum wage, $25/hr minimum wage for major cities. Free healthcare. Easy access to legal representation.


We need to support Ukraine fully. The most recent peace talk deals that would cede Crimea to Russia and bar them from joining NATO are an outrage. We need to take back Congress with progressives that will stop everything Trump is trying to accomplish on the World stage. Israel is committing genocide on the Palestinian people and we have the ability to stop it. We need to recognize the State of Palestine and help to rebuild Gaza. In order to begin the process of establishing peace between Israel and Palestine, Netanyahu needs to be removed from power. He is overseeing the murder of thousands of civilians, including children and his actions are creating Antisemitism and Islamophobia.


We need to start kids on the path to knowledge and discovery Pre-K. Funding programs that support parents to take part in their education. Programs need to be created to expose children to career paths they can explore. Student parents need access to transportation and childcare to allow them to focus on their education. Student debt needs to be completely erased. An entire generation of people have a crippling amount of student debt that they will never be able to pay. This needs to be eliminated so they can invest in their future. At the same time, public colleges & trade schools need to be free or low cost. This would create wealth in our economy and prevent another generation from being saddled with debt.

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
Richard Boykin Democratic Party $129,285 $79,500 $49,785 As of September 30, 2025
Jerico Brown Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Kina Collins Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Melissa Conyears-Ervin Democratic Party $225,375 $10,332 $223,775 As of September 30, 2025
Anthony Driver Jr. Democratic Party $102,600 $27,436 $75,164 As of September 30, 2025
David Ehrlich Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Thomas Fisher Democratic Party $377,899 $54,681 $323,217 As of September 30, 2025
La Shawn Ford Democratic Party $256,631 $23,457 $233,174 As of September 30, 2025
Jason Friedman Democratic Party $1,500,959 $414,408 $1,086,551 As of September 30, 2025
Rory Hoskins Democratic Party $101,631 $45,975 $55,656 As of September 30, 2025
Kamaria Kali Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Danica Leigh Democratic Party $9,830 $9,830 $0 As of September 29, 2025
John McCombs Democratic Party $9,316 $9,316 $0 As of October 17, 2025
Anabel Mendoza Democratic Party $24,925 $18,512 $6,413 As of September 30, 2025
Jazmin Robinson Democratic Party $9,067 $8,942 $125 As of September 30, 2025
Reed Showalter Democratic Party $103,210 $4,078 $99,132 As of September 30, 2025
Felix Tello Democratic Party $8,410 $1,898 $6,512 As of September 30, 2025
William Volny Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

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.

District analysis

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

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Illinois in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Illinois, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Illinois U.S. House Established parties Not less than .5% (.005) of the qualified primary electors of their party in the congressional district N/A 11/3/2025 Source
Illinois U.S. House Independents Not less than 5% nor more than 8% (or 50 more than the minimum, whichever is greater) of the total number of persons who voted at the last regular general election within the congressional district. N/A 5/26/2026 Source

See also

External links

Footnotes


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
Mike Bost (R)
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
Democratic Party (16)
Republican Party (3)