Illinois' 8th Congressional District election, 2026

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Illinois' 8th 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' 8th 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 8th 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' 8th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)
• Illinois' 8th 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 8

The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 8 on March 17, 2026.

		Candidate
		Junaid Ahmed
		Yasmeen Bankole
		Melissa Bean
		Sanjyot Dunung
		Christ Kallas
		Neil Khot
		Kevin Morrison
		Dan Tully
		Ryan Vetticad
	Submit photo	Joseph Wentzel

---

	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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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 8

Kevin Ake, Jennifer Davis, and Mark Rice are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 8 on March 17, 2026.

		Candidate
		Kevin Ake
	Submit photo	Jennifer Davis
		Mark Rice

---

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

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
Junaid Ahmed	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Yasmeen Bankole	Democratic Party	$109,115	$3,663	$105,452	As of June 30, 2025
Melissa Bean	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Sanjyot Dunung	Democratic Party	$108,641	$50,110	$58,531	As of June 30, 2025
Christ Kallas	Democratic Party	$10,667	$3,652	$7,015	As of June 30, 2025
Neil Khot	Democratic Party	$515,794	$35,501	$480,293	As of June 30, 2025
Kevin Morrison	Democratic Party	$182,642	$29,748	$152,894	As of June 30, 2025
Dan Tully	Democratic Party	$204,688	$5,534	$199,154	As of June 30, 2025
Ryan Vetticad	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Joseph Wentzel	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Kevin Ake	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Jennifer Davis	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Mark Rice	Republican Party	$109,109	$8,847	$201,876	As of June 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' 8th Congressional District election, 2026
Race tracker	Race ratings
	9/23/2025	9/16/2025	9/9/2025	9/2/2025
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' 8th Congressional District election, 2024

Illinois' 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 19 Democratic primary)

Illinois' 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 19 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 8

Incumbent Raja Krishnamoorthi defeated Mark Rice in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 8 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Raja Krishnamoorthi (D)	57.1	172,920
		Mark Rice (R)	42.9	130,153

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 303,073
= 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

• Jorge Briseno (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 8

Incumbent Raja Krishnamoorthi advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 8 on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Raja Krishnamoorthi	100.0	34,640

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 34,640
= 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 8

Mark Rice advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 8 on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Rice	100.0	24,362

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 24,362
= 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

• Abhijit Patel (R)

2022

See also: Illinois' 8th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 8

Incumbent Raja Krishnamoorthi defeated Chris Dargis in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 8 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Raja Krishnamoorthi (D)	56.9	117,880
		Chris Dargis (R)	43.1	89,335

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 207,215
= 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

• Mohammed Faheem (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 8

Incumbent Raja Krishnamoorthi defeated Junaid Ahmed in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 8 on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Raja Krishnamoorthi	70.3	29,933
		Junaid Ahmed	29.7	12,627

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 42,560
= 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 8

Chris Dargis defeated Phillip Wood, Peter Kopsaftis, Karen Kolodziej, and Chad Koppie in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 8 on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Dargis	32.0	11,055
		Phillip Wood	18.9	6,529
		Peter Kopsaftis	17.6	6,101
	Submit photo	Karen Kolodziej	17.4	6,017
		Chad Koppie	14.1	4,886

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 34,588
= 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.

2020

See also: Illinois' 8th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 8

Incumbent Raja Krishnamoorthi defeated Preston Nelson in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 8 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Raja Krishnamoorthi (D)	73.2	186,251
		Preston Nelson (L)	26.8	68,327

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 254,578
= 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 8

Incumbent Raja Krishnamoorthi defeated W. Thomas La Fontaine Olson and Inam Hussain in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 8 on March 17, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Raja Krishnamoorthi	79.9	51,829
		W. Thomas La Fontaine Olson	13.0	8,441
	Submit photo	Inam Hussain	7.0	4,563

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 64,833
= 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

• Mohammed Faheem (D)

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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