Illinois' 2nd Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)

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Illinois' 2nd 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' 2nd 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

Illinois 2026 elections

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Appellate courts • Local ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • All local elections by county • How to run for office

Donna Miller (D) defeated 10 other candidates in the Democratic primary for Illinois' 2nd Congressional District on March 17, 2026. As of March 2026, Miller, Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D), Robert Peters (D), and Willie Preston (D) led in fundraising and local media attention.^[1] Click here for detailed results.

Incumbent Robin Kelly (D), first elected in 2013, ran for U.S. Senate rather than seeking re-election, leaving the seat open. Kelly won re-election in 2024 68%–32%. The major race rating outlets rated the race as Solid Democratic, meaning the winner of this primary was likely to win the general election.

Miller was elected to the Cook County Commission in 2018. Miller's professional experience included working as an independent consultant in sales training and marketing.^[2] Miller said she had "spent her career serving the community and fighting to lower costs for working families, increase opportunity, and expand access to healthcare, particularly for women and communities of color."^[3]

Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D) was a former nonprofit executive who represented the District from 1995 to 2012. Jackson served 23 months in prison after being found guilty in 2013 of spending $750,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses.^[4] Jackson said he had been "one of the most effective members of Congress, delivering nearly a billion in grants and appropriations to the District."^[5]

Peters was, as of the 2026 primaries, a majority whip in the Illinois Senate and was elected to the chamber in 2018. He previously worked as a community organizer with the nonprofit group Chicago Votes. Peters said he was running "to bring bold, progressive leadership to Washington on behalf of the communities of Illinois’ 2nd District."^[6]

Preston was, as of the 2026 primaries, the chairman of the Illinois Senate Black Caucus and was first elected to the chamber in 2022. Preston's professional experience included owning a construction firm and working as a janitor and carpenter.^[7] Preston said he was running "because I know what it means to struggle – and to overcome. Together, we're going to bring back jobs and businesses to the Southland."^[8]

Also running in the primary were Toni Brown (D), Yumeka Brown (D), Eric France (D), Patrick Keating (D), Sidney Moore (D), Adal Regis (D), and Jeremy Young (D).

This is one of 56 open races for the U.S. House of Representatives this year in which an incumbent is not running for re-election. Across the country, 21 Democrats and 35 Republicans are not running for re-election. In 2024, 45 incumbents — 24 Democrats and 21 Republicans — did not seek re-election.

This page focuses on Illinois' 2nd 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 2

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 2 on March 17, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donna Miller	40.5	31,303
		Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.	28.8	22,271
		Robert Peters	11.9	9,184
		Yumeka Brown	10.5	8,081
		Willie Preston	3.0	2,279
		Patrick Keating	1.3	1,018
	Submit photo	Toni Brown	1.2	905
		Sidney Moore	1.0	777
		Eric France	1.0	751
		Adal Regis	0.8	629
	Submit photo	Bryan Slepicka (Write-in)	0.0	0

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 77,198
= 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

Robin Kelly (D)
Jeremy Young (D)

Voting information

See also: Voting in Illinois

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

What was the voter registration deadline?

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

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

Yes

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

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

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

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

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Feb. 5, 2026 to March 16, 2026

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

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

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

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.

Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

U.S. House (1995–2012)

Biography: Jackson obtained a bachelor's degree from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, a master's degree from Chicago Theological Seminary, and a law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. Jackson worked at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, a nonprofit organization his father, Jesse Jackson, founded.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Jackson said he had a record of success from his earlier terms in Congress, with his campaign website saying Jackson "was considered one of the hardest-working and most effective members of Congress. He never missed a vote and he delivered nearly a billion dollars in federal grants and appropriations to the District."

Jackson said his experience was more valuable because of how high the political stakes were in 2026. His campaign website quoted former Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) as saying Jackson "is the most qualified and ready-made of all the candidates to fight for democracy and against policies that threaten to take away healthcare, food stamps and Social Security."

Jackson said he "would be committed to fighting for all residents from the South Side of Chicago and small towns like Tilton to rural and unincorporated areas. He would work hard every day to lead the fight for those who have been marginalized, forgotten and left behind in Washington's political chaos."

Show sources

Sources: Jesse Jackson campaign website, "Issues," accessed November 20, 2025; Jesse Jackson campaign website, "Main page," accessed November 20, 2025; Jesse Jackson campaign website, "About," accessed November 20, 2025; Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "JACKSON, Jesse L., Jr." accessed November 20, 2025

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Illinois District 2 in 2026.

Donna Miller

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Cook County Board of Commissioners (Assumed office: 2018)

Biography: Miller obtained a bachelor's degree in marketing from Howard University. Her professional experience includes working in sales training with Genentech and UnitedHealth Group as well as working in marketing with the American Heart Association. Miller had worked as an independent consultant in sales training and marketing for 15 years.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Miller said she had "spent her career serving the community and fighting to lower costs for working families, increase opportunity, and expand access to healthcare, particularly for women and communities of color." Miller said she had experience in healthcare and government.

Miller said her family's legacy inspired her choice of career. Her campaign website said: "Donna’s great grandfather was a Pullman Porter who helped build the middle class. Her grandmother, mother, and sister were all teachers. And her dad wore this country’s uniform his entire career."

Miller said she was running "to fight back against those in Washington who are trying to tear down all of the progress she’s made for working families...[and to] build a future we can all afford."

Show sources

Sources: Donna Miller campaign website, "Meet Donna," accessed November 20, 2025; LinkedIn, "Donna Miller," accessed November 20, 2025

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Illinois District 2 in 2026.

Robert Peters

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Illinois Senate (Assumed office: 2019)

Biography: Peters obtained a bachelor's degree in social sciences from Kansas State University. Before entering elected office, Peters worked as a community organizer with the nonprofit organization Chicago Votes. He also worked for Reclaim Chicago and The People's Lobby.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Peters said he had a history of advocacy in the community and that he was running "to bring bold, progressive leadership to Washington on behalf of the communities of Illinois’ 2nd District."

Peters said he had "established himself as a highly effective legislator, chairing the Public Safety Committee, the Labor Committee and, previously, the Senate Black Caucus." Peters said he had passed dozens of bills in the state Senate and had been involved in modifying the state's bail system, raising the minimum wage, and prohibiting certain restrictions on abortion.

Peters said his "commitment to fighting for justice for all is rooted in his own story," having been adopted by a social worker and a civil rights attorney. Peters said his upbringing taught him "that the most valuable work he can do is standing up for others."

Show sources

Sources: Robert Peters campaign website, "About," accessed November 20, 2025; Robert Peters campaign website, "About," accessed November 20, 2025

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Illinois District 2 in 2026.

Willie Preston

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Illinois Senate (Assumed office: 2023)

Biography: Preston worked as a union janitor and a carpenter before attending Chicago State University and Roosevelt University. Before entering elected politics, Preston worked with nonprofit organizations including the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability. Preston was the owner and operator of a construction firm.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Preston said he understood the challenges district residents faced, with his campaign website saying he "was born and raised in Englewood on Chicago’s South Side, and his journey reflects the story of so many in our community."

Preston said his state legislative record included "banning toxic food additives, expanding union apprenticeships, and ensuring every person coming home from prison leaves with a state ID and a fair shot at redemption and rebuilding their life."

Preston said he was running "because I know what it means to struggle – and to overcome. Together, we're going to bring back jobs and businesses to the Southland. We're going to support local farmers, and we're going to build world-class neighborhoods all throughout the South Side of Chicago."

Show sources

Sources: Willie Preston campaign website, "Home page," accessed November 21, 2025; YouTube, "Preston for Congress Official Launch Video," August 19, 2025; Illinois General Assembly, "Willie Preston (D) - 104th General Assembly," accessed November 21, 2025; Willie Preston campaign website, "Home page," accessed November 21, 2025

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Illinois District 2 in 2026.

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 completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign ads

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.

Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Donna Miller

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Donna Miller while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Robert Peters

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Robert Peters while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Willie Preston

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Willie Preston while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Click the links below to see official endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites for any candidates that make that information available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls from a wide variety of sources, including media outlets, social media, campaigns, and aggregation websites, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.

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.^[9]
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.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Race ratings: Illinois' 2nd Congressional District election, 2026
Race tracker	Race ratings
	3/17/2026	3/10/2026	3/3/2026	2/24/2026
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.

Campaign finance

Candidate spending

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Yumeka Brown	Democratic Party	$106,684	$62,661	$44,024	As of February 25, 2026
Toni Brown	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Eric France	Democratic Party	$22,080	$22,299	$-219	As of February 25, 2026
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.	Democratic Party	$288,251	$239,393	$48,858	As of February 25, 2026
Patrick Keating	Democratic Party	$14,696	$9,733	$4,963	As of February 25, 2026
Donna Miller	Democratic Party	$1,971,085	$1,505,780	$465,305	As of February 25, 2026
Sidney Moore	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Robert Peters	Democratic Party	$1,130,677	$942,168	$188,510	As of February 25, 2026
Willie Preston	Democratic Party	$138,049	$126,352	$11,697	As of February 25, 2026
Adal Regis	Democratic Party	$71,090	$58,254	$807	As of December 31, 2025
Bryan Slepicka	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.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.^[13]^[14]^[15]

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

By candidate	By election
Yumeka Brown Eric France Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. Patrick Keating Donna Miller Robert Peters Willie Preston Adal Regis Jeremy Young	OpenSecrets Federal Election Commission

Note: As of November 19, 2025, Toni Brown (D) and Sidney Moore (D) had not filed as candidates with the Federal Election Commission.

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.

District map

Competitiveness
Presidential elections

State party control

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

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+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' 2nd the 74th most Democratic district nationally.^[16]

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' 2nd Congressional District
Kamala Harris	Donald Trump
66.0%	33.0%

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
Office	Officeholder
Governor	J.B. Pritzker
Lieutenant Governor	Juliana Stratton
Secretary of State	Alexi Giannoulias
Attorney General	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

District election history

2024

Illinois' 2nd Congressional District election, 2024 (March 19 Democratic primary)

Illinois' 2nd Congressional District election, 2024 (March 19 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 2

Incumbent Robin Kelly defeated Ashley Ramos and Mike Vick in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 2 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Robin Kelly (D)	67.5	195,777
	Ashley Ramos (R)	32.4	94,004
	Mike Vick (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	33
	Other/Write-in votes	0.0	29

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 289,843
= 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.