Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

Illinois' 18th Congressional District election, 2020

From Ballotpedia
Revision as of 04:47, 13 August 2021 by Tyler King (contribs)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to: navigation, search


2022
2018
Illinois' 18th Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: December 2, 2019
Primary: March 17, 2020
General: November 3, 2020

Pre-election incumbent:
Darin LaHood (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Illinois
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Illinois' 18th Congressional District
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th15th16th17th18th
Illinois elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 18th Congressional District of Illinois, held elections in 2020.

Incumbent Darin LaHood won election in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 18.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
December 2, 2019
March 17, 2020
November 3, 2020


Heading into the election the incumbent was Republican Darin LaHood, who was first elected in 2015.


Illinois' 18th Congressional District covers central and western Illinois, including Adams, Brown, Cass, Hancock, Logan, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, Menard, Morgan Pike, Schuyler, Scott, and Woodford counties as well as portions of McLean, Peoria, Sangamon, Stark, and Tazewell counties.[1]

Post-election analysis

The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

Presidential and congressional election results, Illinois' 18th Congressional District, 2020
Race Presidential U.S. House
Democratic candidate Democratic Party 36.8 29.6
Republican candidate Republican Party 61 70.4
Difference 24.2 40.8

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Illinois modified its absentee/mail-in voting and candidate filing procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

  • Absentee/mail-in voting: Mail-in ballot applications were sent to all registered voters in the general election who cast ballots in the 2018 general election, the 2019 consolidated election, or the 2020 primary election.
  • Candidate filing procedures: The following changes were made to the filing procedures for unaffiliated and new-party candidates: petition signature requirements were reduced to 10 percent of their original numbers; candidates were authorized to collect petition signatures electronically; and the filing deadline was extended to July 20, 2020.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Explore Election Results site ad border blue.png

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 18

Incumbent Darin LaHood defeated George Petrilli in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 18 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Darin LaHood
Darin LaHood (R)
 
70.4
 
261,840
Image of George Petrilli
George Petrilli (D)
 
29.6
 
110,039

Total votes: 371,879
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.

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

Democratic primary election

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 18

Incumbent Darin LaHood advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 18 on March 17, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Darin LaHood
Darin LaHood
 
100.0
 
59,542

Total votes: 59,542
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.

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

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Eleven of 102 Illinois counties—10.8 percent—are Pivot Counties. These are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Alexander County, Illinois 8.30% 13.65% 12.62%
Carroll County, Illinois 26.69% 1.49% 4.81%
Fulton County, Illinois 14.93% 11.04% 21.33%
Henderson County, Illinois 28.43% 12.25% 17.67%
Henry County, Illinois 20.99% 3.08% 7.74%
Jo Daviess County, Illinois 14.64% 1.16% 10.49%
Knox County, Illinois 2.91% 17.37% 19.89%
Mercer County, Illinois 20.36% 7.39% 11.91%
Putnam County, Illinois 19.92% 1.82% 15.64%
Warren County, Illinois 16.50% 5.47% 8.08%
Whiteside County, Illinois 6.18% 17.02% 17.56%

In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Illinois with 55.8 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 38.8 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Illinois voted Republican 50 percent of the time and Democratic 50 percent of the time. Illinois voted Democratic in all five elections from 2000 to 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Illinois. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[2][3]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 75 out of 118 state House districts in Illinois with an average margin of victory of 39.2 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 76 out of 118 state House districts in Illinois with an average margin of victory of 42.1 points. Clinton won 13 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 43 out of 118 state House districts in Illinois with an average margin of victory of 15 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 42 out of 118 state House districts in Illinois with an average margin of victory of 22.1 points. Trump won four districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

District analysis

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

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+15, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 15 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Illinois' 18th Congressional District the 84th most Republican nationally.[4]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.95. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.95 points toward that party.[5]

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[6] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[7] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Darin LaHood Republican Party $3,260,959 $1,761,973 $3,090,571 As of December 31, 2020
George Petrilli Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. 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.

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.[8]
  • 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.[9][10][11]

Race ratings: Illinois' 18th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Candidate ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for 18th Congressional District candidates in Illinois in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Illinois, click here.

Filing requirements, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
Illinois 18th Congressional District Democratic 563 0.5% of qualified party primary voters in the district N/A N/A 12/2/2019 Source
Illinois 18th Congressional District Republican 1,033 0.5% of qualified party primary voters in the district N/A N/A 12/2/2019 Source
Illinois 18th Congressional District Unaffiliated Pending 10% of original requirement (by court order) N/A N/A 7/20/2020 Source

District election history

2018

See also: Illinois' 18th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 18

Incumbent Darin LaHood defeated Junius Rodriguez in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 18 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Darin LaHood
Darin LaHood (R)
 
67.2
 
195,927
Image of Junius Rodriguez
Junius Rodriguez (D)
 
32.8
 
95,486

Total votes: 291,413
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.

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 18

Junius Rodriguez defeated Brian Deters and Darrel Miller in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 18 on March 20, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Junius Rodriguez
Junius Rodriguez
 
41.7
 
14,990
Image of Brian Deters
Brian Deters
 
39.5
 
14,189
Image of Darrel Miller
Darrel Miller
 
18.8
 
6,757

Total votes: 35,936
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.

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 18

Incumbent Darin LaHood defeated Donald Rients in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 18 on March 20, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Darin LaHood
Darin LaHood
 
78.9
 
61,722
Image of Donald Rients
Donald Rients
 
21.1
 
16,535

Total votes: 78,257
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.

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

2016

See also: Illinois' 18th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Darin LaHood (R) defeated Junius Rodriguez (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Rodriguez was added to the ballot in May, after the primaries had already taken place.[12] LaHood was unopposed in the Republican primary on March 15, 2016.[13][14]

U.S. House, Illinois District 18 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDarin LaHood Incumbent 72.1% 250,506
     Democratic Junius Rodriguez 27.9% 96,770
     N/A Write-in 0% 7
Total Votes 347,283
Source: Illinois State Board of Elections

2014

See also: Illinois' 18th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 18th Congressional District of Illinois held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Aaron Schock (R) defeated Darrel Miller (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Illinois District 18 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngAaron Schock Incumbent 74.7% 184,636
     Democratic Darrel Miller 25.3% 62,377
Total Votes 247,013
Source: Illinois State Board of Elections Official Results

See also

External links

Footnotes


Senators
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)