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Illinois gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (March 17 Republican primary)
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← 2022
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| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Illinois |
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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. |
| Race ratings |
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic Inside Elections: Solid Democratic |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2026 Impact of term limits in 2026 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| Illinois executive elections |
| Governor Lieutenant Governor |
A Republican Party primary takes place on March 17, 2026, in Illinois to determine which candidates will earn the right to run as the party's nominee in the state's gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election on November 3, 2026.
In Illinois, gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates run for election together on a single ticket in both the primary and the general election.
This page focuses on Illinois' Republican Party gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial primary. For more in-depth information on Illinois' Democratic gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- Illinois gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)
- Illinois gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026
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
Governor
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Illinois
Darren Bailey, Ted Dabrowski, Rick Heidner, and James Mendrick are running in the Republican primary for Governor of Illinois on March 17, 2026.
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Lieutenant governor
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. You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Illinois
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Election analysis
This section will contain facts and figures related to this state's elections when those are available.
State profile
| Demographic data for Illinois | ||
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 12,839,047 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 55,519 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 72.3% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 14.3% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 5% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 16.5% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 87.9% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 32.3% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $57,574 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 16.8% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Illinois. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Illinois
Illinois voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, 11 are located in Illinois, accounting for 5.34 percent of the total pivot counties.[1]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Illinois had 11 Retained Pivot Counties, 6.08 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Illinois coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Illinois
- United States congressional delegations from Illinois
- Public policy in Illinois
- Endorsers in Illinois
- Illinois fact checks
- More...
See also
| Illinois | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
