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Illinois Governor Primaries

Explore declared and potential candidates, ideological placements, and polling trends for Illinois's 2026 gubernatorial primaries.

* Illinois uses a closed primary system. Only registered party members may vote in their party's primary.

Democratic Primary Polling Trends

No polling data available — Pritzker ran uncontested.
Winner
JB Pritzker
JB Pritzker

2026 Democratic Primary — Final Results

CandidateVotes%
JB PritzkerUncontested100%
JB Pritzker100%

Democratic Primary Candidates

JB Pritzker (D)

JB Pritzker (D)

Incumbent governor of Illinois focused on progressive taxation, infrastructure investment, and abortion rights.

Ideology: Mainstream Liberal

Fiscal ConservativeFiscal Progressive
⬆️
Social ConservativeSocial Liberal
⬆️
EstablishmentPopulist
⬆️
HawkishDovish
⬆️

Notable Endorsements

  • Cook County Democratic Party
  • Illinois AFL-CIO
  • Equality Illinois

Republican Primary Polling Trends

* Undecided redistributed evenly across candidates. LOESS smoothed trend line.

Winner
Darren Bailey
Darren Bailey

2026 Republican Primary — Final Results

CandidateVotes%
Darren Bailey300,12753.5%
Ted Dabrowski162,10828.9%
James Mendrick53,6389.6%
Rick Heidner45,4768.1%
Darren Bailey53.5%
Ted Dabrowski28.9%
James Mendrick9.6%
Rick Heidner8.1%

Republican Primary Candidates

James Mendrick (R)

James Mendrick (R)

Sheriff of DuPage County known for his tough-on-crime stance and clashes with state COVID policies.

Ideology: Conservative Populist

Fiscal ConservativeFiscal Progressive
⬆️
Social ConservativeSocial Liberal
⬆️
EstablishmentPopulist
⬆️
HawkishDovish
⬆️
Darren Bailey (R)

Darren Bailey (R)

Former state senator from the 55th district.

Ideology: Conservative Populist

Fiscal ConservativeFiscal Progressive
⬆️
Social ConservativeSocial Liberal
⬆️
EstablishmentPopulist
⬆️
HawkishDovish
⬆️