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Illinois' 9th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Republican primary)

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← 2024
Illinois' 9th 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.
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' 9th 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

A Republican Party primary takes place on March 17, 2026, in Illinois' 9th 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
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' 9th Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results


Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 9

Rocio Cleveland, John Elleson, Paul Friedman, and Mark Su are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 9 on March 17, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Rocio Cleveland
Rocio Cleveland
Image of John Elleson
John Elleson Candidate Connection
Image of Paul Friedman
Paul Friedman Candidate Connection
Image of Mark Su
Mark Su Candidate Connection

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = 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.

John Elleson

Image of John Elleson

WebsiteFacebookXYouTube

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "I’m a compassionate conservative with common sense, and I bring a steady, unifying voice to a divided political climate. With decades of service in the community, I’m not just a leader in words but in action—working tirelessly to build bridges across cultural, political, and economic divides. I understand the real challenges families face because I’ve walked with them through it all. With a proven track record of integrity, service, and results, I’m ready to bring fresh, grounded leadership to Washington."

Key Messages

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

I believes in leading with compassion and understanding. We need practical aid-based programs for addiction, homelessness, and mental health. We need community-first healthcare policies, expand local clinics and affordability initiatives without federal overreach. We need to be committed to serving the community and addressing local issues. Listen before legislating. It is then that we can build trust through transparency and accountable leadership. The results will foster bipartisan solutions that stabilize families and uplift vulnerable citizens.

We need to be focused on policies that uplift and support working families while protecting religious liberty and building bridges across differences. This includes supporting law enforcement with resources and training rooted in de-escalation and community trust. Drugs must be kept off the streets and keep our youth out of crime. On top of all this, we need to promote job creation through local businesses while removing burdensome regulations and support community-based economic revitalization.

We need to have a vision for the future. I will ensure a prosperous future for constituents by putting their needs first. Three main stances I am running on: Building Trust Empowering Families Bridging Communities

Paul Friedman

Image of Paul Friedman

WebsiteFacebook

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Key Messages

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

Create an economy that benefits the American worker.

Set a fair political environment by 1) eliminating gerrymandering and 2) setting term limits.

Reclaim Congressional power

Mark Su

Image of Mark Su

WebsiteFacebookYouTube

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "I am father, husband, and long time community contributor. I was a student, a blue collar worker, a small business owner before, and I am working class people in past 20 years working as an computer software engineer and IT consultant. I also create media company to do news and video media for 12 years. I have extensive professional experience in several industry, include worked at Tech company Motorola as a software engineer, Abbott Laboratories , Bank of American as a IT consultant. Over past dozens of years, I work as a media editor , journalist to closely work with communities, city, state and other place, include promote policy, report events, help community to solve issues , etc. With my media platform , I did lot political comments, support local, state and federal candidates , and promote election. I was also a writer, which publish two books, and thousands of news and comment articles."

Key Messages

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

I am grassroot working class person, I'll fight for all citizens, what ever you are republican, or any other citizens, I will work for you

I am loyal citizens of 9th district which live on this district over last 27 years, I will make this district better, make Illinois better, make American better

I'll represent republican to election, as democratic congress woman in this district near 30 years, it's time to change, from equal opportunity point of view, it's term for republican to be on this congress district. However, I'll work for all people, include republican, democratic and any other citizens. I'll fight for all class, no matter you are blue collar, white collar, business owner, etc. I will fight for issues like high working class medical insurance, community safety, better education systems, strong economy , and more.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Illinois

Election information in Illinois: March 17, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: March 17, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by Feb. 17, 2026
  • Online: March 1, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

Yes

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: March 16, 2026
  • By mail: Received by March 12, 2026
  • Online: March 12, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: March 17, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by March 17, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

Feb. 5, 2026 to March 16, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

6:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (CT)

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Rocio Cleveland Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
John Elleson Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Paul Friedman Republican Party $2,700 $0 $2,700 As of December 31, 2025
Mark Su Republican Party $19,869 $12,030 $7,839 As of December 31, 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.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_il_congressional_district_09.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Illinois.

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Illinois in 2026. Information below was calculated on Nov. 3, 2025, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

One hundred five candidates — 69 Democrats and 36 Republicans — ran for Illinois’ 17 U.S. House districts. That’s 6.2 candidates per district. There were 2.7 candidates per district in 2024, 5.6 in 2022, 4.1 in 2020, 4.4 in 2018, 2.7 in 2016, and 2.8 in 2014.

This was the highest total number of candidates who ran for the U.S. House since 2014.

Five districts were open in 2026. There were no districts open in 2024, four in 2022, one in 2020, one in 2018, one in 2016, and none in 2014. Reps. Jesus Garcia (D-4th), Danny K. Davis (D-7th), and Jan Schakowsky (D-9th) retired from public office. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-8th) and Robin Kelly (D-2nd) ran for the U.S. Senate.

Twenty primaries — nine Democratic and 11 Republican — were contested in 2026. In total, there were 11 contested primaries in 2024, 19 in 2022, 21 in 2020, 20 in 2018, 14 in 2016, and nine in 2014.

Twenty candidates — 16 Democrats and four Republicans — ran for the open 9th district, the most candidates that ran for a district in 2026.

Five incumbents — four Democrats and one Republican — faced primary challengers in 2026. There were five incumbents in a contested primary in 2024, seven in 2022, 10 in 2020, seven in 2018, seven in 2016, and three in 2014.

Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in all 17 districts, meaning no districts were guaranteed to either party.

Partisan Voter Index

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

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+19. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 19 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Illinois' 9th the 63rd most Democratic district nationally.[2]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Illinois' 9th Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
68.0%31.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Illinois, 2024

Illinois presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 17 Democratic wins
  • 15 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party R R R D R R R R D D D D D R R D D R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D
See also: Party control of Illinois state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Illinois' congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Illinois
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 2 14 16
Republican 0 3 3
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 17 19

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Illinois' top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Illinois, October 2025
OfficeOfficeholder
GovernorDemocratic Party J.B. Pritzker
Lieutenant GovernorDemocratic Party Juliana Stratton
Secretary of StateDemocratic Party Alexi Giannoulias
Attorney GeneralDemocratic Party Kwame Raoul

State legislature

Illinois State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 40
     Republican Party 19
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 59

Illinois House of Representatives

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 78
     Republican Party 40
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 118

Trifecta control

Illinois Party Control: 1992-2025
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  Two years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D
Senate D R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
House D D D R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

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

  1. ↑ Illinois General Assembly, "Ill. Rev. Stat. ch. 10, § 5/7–44," accessed December 4, 2025
  2. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025


Illinois' current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Tammy Duckworth (D)
Dick Durbin (D)
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)


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