R. Cary Capparelli

R. Cary Capparelli

Republican Party

Candidate, U.S. Senate Illinois

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

Drake University

Graduate

Northwestern University

Ph.D

University of London

Personal

Birthplace

Chicago, Ill.

Profession

President & CEO

Contact

Campaign website

Personal website

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

R. Cary Capparelli (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Illinois. He declared candidacy for the general election scheduled on November 3, 2026.^[source]

Capparelli completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

R. Cary Capparelli was born in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Drake University. He earned a graduate degree in journalism from the Northwestern University Medill School, a graduate degree from Northeastern Illinois University, and a doctoral degree from the University of London. His career experience includes working as a geography professor and as the president of OMNI-Communique.

Elections

2026

See also: United States Senate election in Illinois, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.

General election for U.S. Senate Illinois

The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. Senate Illinois on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Awisi Bustos (D)
		Adam Delgado (D)
		Robin Kelly (D)
		Raja Krishnamoorthi (D)
		Stanley Leavell (D)
		Robert Palmer (D)
		Kevin Ryan (D)
		Juliana Stratton (D)
	Submit photo	Panagioti Bartzis (R)
		Doug Bennett (R)
		R. Cary Capparelli (R)
		Casey Chlebek (R)
		John Goodman (R)
		Pamela Denise Long (R)
	Submit photo	Januario Ortega (R)
		Jimmy Lee Tillman II (R)
	Submit photo	Don Tracy (R)
		Austin Mink (Independent)
	Submit photo	Tyrone Muhammad (Independent)
	Submit photo	Anthony Smith (Independent)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Illinois

Jonathan Dean, Bryan Maxwell, and Adair Rodriquez are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Illinois on March 17, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Jonathan Dean
	Submit photo	Bryan Maxwell
	Submit photo	Adair Rodriquez

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Dick Durbin (D)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2024)

General election

Special general election for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

Incumbent Precious Brady-Davis defeated R. Cary Capparelli in the special general election for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Precious Brady-Davis (D)	69.3	1,284,203
		R. Cary Capparelli (R)	30.7	567,911

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 1,852,114
= 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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Democratic primary election

Special Democratic primary for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

Incumbent Precious Brady-Davis advanced from the special Democratic primary for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Precious Brady-Davis	100.0	425,160

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 425,160
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Andrew Holmes (D)

Republican primary election

Special Republican primary for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

R. Cary Capparelli advanced from the special Republican primary for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		R. Cary Capparelli	100.0	76,809

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 76,809
= 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Capparelli in this election.

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2022)

General election

General election for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (3 seats)

Incumbent Mariyana Spyropoulos, Patricia Theresa Flynn, and Yumeka Brown defeated R. Cary Capparelli and Mark Buettner in the general election for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Mariyana Spyropoulos (D)	29.6	865,103
✔	Submit photo	Patricia Theresa Flynn (D)	26.2	766,291
✔		Yumeka Brown (D)	24.3	710,037
		R. Cary Capparelli (R)	12.5	365,671
		Mark Buettner (G)	7.5	219,711

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,926,813
= 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 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Mariyana Spyropoulos	22.2	257,580
✔	Submit photo	Patricia Theresa Flynn	17.4	201,003
✔		Yumeka Brown	16.0	185,222
		Sharon Waller	12.9	149,165
		Precious Brady-Davis	10.9	126,672
	Submit photo	Frank Avila	8.6	99,815
	Submit photo	Rick Garcia	6.6	76,019
	Submit photo	Cristina Nonato	5.4	62,738
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	5

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 1,158,219
= 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 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (3 seats)

R. Cary Capparelli advanced from the Republican primary for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		R. Cary Capparelli	100.0	100,427

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 100,427
= 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 House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Illinois House of Representatives District 20

Incumbent Brad Stephens defeated Michelle Darbro in the general election for Illinois House of Representatives District 20 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Brad Stephens (R)	54.6	28,314
	Submit photo	Michelle Darbro (D)	45.4	23,546

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 51,860
= 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 Illinois House of Representatives District 20

Michelle Darbro defeated R. Cary Capparelli in the Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 20 on March 17, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Michelle Darbro	66.9	9,921
		R. Cary Capparelli	33.1	4,905

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,826
= 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 Illinois House of Representatives District 20

Incumbent Brad Stephens advanced from the Republican primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 20 on March 17, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Brad Stephens	100.0	3,705

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,705
= 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.

2018

See also: Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2018)

General election

General election for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debra Shore (D)	26.5	1,025,409
✔	Submit photo	Kari Steele (D)	23.6	912,598
✔		Marcelino Garcia (D)	21.8	841,193
		R. Cary Capparelli (R)	8.6	332,435
	Submit photo	Shundar Lin (R)	6.8	263,494
	Submit photo	Karen Roothaan (G)	4.5	172,278
	Submit photo	Christopher Anthony (G)	4.4	171,927
	Submit photo	Tammie Vinson (G)	3.8	147,638

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 3,866,972
= 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 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (3 seats)

Incumbent Debra Shore, incumbent Kari Steele, and Marcelino Garcia defeated incumbent Martin Durkan in the Democratic primary for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago on March 20, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debra Shore	31.7	436,325
✔	Submit photo	Kari Steele	28.6	393,570
✔		Marcelino Garcia	20.8	286,540
	Submit photo	Martin Durkan	18.9	259,701

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 1,376,136
= 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

• Rene Avila (D)
• Elizabeth Joyce (D)
• Toni Williams (D)
• Robert Shaw (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (3 seats)

R. Cary Capparelli and Shundar Lin advanced from the Republican primary for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago on March 20, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		R. Cary Capparelli	63.2	92,637
✔	Submit photo	Shundar Lin	36.8	53,832

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 146,469
= 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.

Green primary election

The Green primary election was canceled. Christopher Anthony, Karen Roothaan, and Tammie Vinson advanced from the Green primary for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.

2016

See also: Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2016)

Cook County held elections for county board of review, state's attorney, clerk of the circuit court, county recorder, and special districts in 2016. The general election was held on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on March 15, 2016. The following candidates ran in the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago primary election for the 3 full-term open seats.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, 3 full-term seats Primary Election, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Barbara McGowan Incumbent	24.42%	517,239
Mariyana Spyropoulos Incumbent	19.99%	423,313
Josina Morita	18.36%	388,766
Joseph Cook	15.20%	321,814
Kevin McDevitt	14.32%	303,170
R. Cary Capparelli	7.72%	163,482
Total Votes		2,117,784
Source: Cook County Clerk, "Cook County and The City of Chicago Combined Summary, Primary Election March 15, 2016," accessed November 27, 2016

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

R. Cary Capparelli completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Capparelli's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

R. Cary Capparelli is an International businessman and educator.

Capparelli is the son of the late Ralph C. Capparelli who served in the Illinois House of Representatives, as a moderate Democrat, for seventeen (17) consecutive terms.

Much of the younger Capparelli’s professional career spanned the globe including organizing the first motorsports competitions between the United States and the former Soviet Union, international boxing matches, international bicycle racing, and also developing a vineyard in Argentina.

“I am not a politician,” stressed Capparelli. “However, I am a hard working individual with the experience and ability to function as an effective ‘America First’ lawmaker.”

The candidate holds four (4) university degrees: BAJ from Drake University, MSJ from Northwestern University, MA in geography from Northeastern Illinois University and a PhD in geography from the University of London.

“Washington has plenty of lawyers but lacks common sense economists, geographers, and those from other important disciplines that form domestic and world opinion,” added Capparelli.

He continues to operate his Chicago-area based management/marketing firm, and has instructed cultural and regional geography courses at South Dakota State University the past eight (8) years.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• 'Common-Sense' policies that strengthen both all domestic and world issues.
• 'America First' policies that effect every American economically and socially (fighting crime and support law enforcement).
• And, the absolute 'America First' policy in support of our national defense and protection of global interests.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

All public policies that effect every legal citizen: the economy and support of law enforcement in fighting crime. And, to make the U.S. military as strong as possible to defend the United States of America of all adversaries.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Understanding issues to bring about common sense decisions that have a positive outcome for everyone.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Integrity is a key component when making responsible decisions.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

As a high school student, I worked as a 'gopher' with a Formula One race team that consisted of some very big names in the sport.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Domestically, the nation's economy is the immediate challenge.

Globally, the axis of evil, namely the Democratic Republic of North Korea; the Islamic Republic of Iran; North Korea, the Peoples Republic of China; and the Russian Federation as a challenge and threat to American interests.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I am in favor of term limits that are reasonable.

What do you think of the filibuster?

Per se, I find filibusters as a dishonest attempt to block or stall progress based on an extreme biased opinion.

Is there a particular senator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

I admire Senator Ted Cruz of Texas for his courage to confront and intelligence.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Personally, I see socialists existing in various parts of our government causing a lack of financial transparency and government accountability. And, the final result is often a failed government.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2024

R. Cary Capparelli did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

R. Cary Capparelli did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

R. Cary Capparelli completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Capparelli's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Capparelli is president of his own global management and marketing company. He produced and managed events throughout the world including the former Soviet Union. He is also an online professor of Geography. Capparelli served on both the Illinois Banking Board and on the Illinois Port Authority Board and chaired various committees including Homeland Security. His campaign is based on traditional values much like the constituents of the district he would represent. Capparelli holds degrees from Drake University, Medill-Northwestern University, Northeastern Illinois University and a PhD from the University of London.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Capparelli's views are similar to most constituents in the district
• Experienced in both the private and public sectors
• Anti-Madigan candidate vowing to curb cronyism

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Capparelli's priorities target the same problems faced by most residents of Illinois: 1) fight high taxes and 2) rebuild the crumbling infra-structure.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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R. Cary Capparelli campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. Senate Illinois	Candidacy Declared general	$0	N/A**
2020	Illinois House of Representatives District 20	Lost primary	$6,594	N/A**
Grand total			$6,594	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

2026 Elections

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Newsletters

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External links

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Candidate

U.S. Senate Illinois

Website

Personal

Website

Facebook

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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)