Illinois’s primary is underway, as voters choose their top candidates to run in the state’s governor’s race and 18 congressional races this November. We have the live results from key races, courtesy of Decision Desk HQ.
Illinois Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner is not well liked. He is among the least popular governors in the country and has a lower approval rating than President Donald Trump in a state Trump lost by more than 20 points.
This means that the Illinois governorship is, perhaps by far, the most likely gubernatorial pickup opportunity for Democrats this November. They desperately want to improve their numbers in states; Democrats control only 16 governors’ mansions around the country.
Rauner, first elected in the 2014 Republican wave, is an uberwealthy former venture capitalist and faces challenges on both the left and the right. In the Republican primary, one far-right state legislator, Jeanne Ives, is trying to kick Rauner off the ballot in November altogether with a socially conservative campaign railing on the governor for having liberal views on abortion and LGBTQ rights. While the race has tightened in the final days, Ives is still trailing in the polls.
Meanwhile, there is a bitterly competitive primary on the Democratic side. Three candidates have been leading a crowded field: venture capitalist and billionaire entrepreneur J.B. Pritzker, who has led infrequent polls; progressive state Sen. Daniel Biss; and developer Chris Kennedy (the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s son).
Illinois is in a state of severe financial crisis decades in the making. Its bond rating is hovering one level above “junk” status, and the state went two years without a budget before finally passing one with a significant tax hike last summer. November will undoubtedly be a race about stabilizing the state’s financial situation and breaking Illinois’s long history of corrupt leadership (four of the past seven governors have ended up in prison).
Among the Democrats, Pritzker, who has been dogged by questions about his vast wealth and use of offshore companies, has already focused his campaign on November, spending most of his time attacking Rauner.
If the race does narrow to Pritzker and Rauner on Tuesday, November will be a contest between a billionaire and a multimillionaire. The winner will be whoever convinces Illinois voters he will be able to revitalize the state’s economy and stay aboveboard while doing it.
A female first-time candidate almost beat an anti-abortion incumbent. That’s a big deal.
Marie Newman, who narrowly lost in the 2018 Illinois primary election to Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), with Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) in January 2018. CQ-Roll Call,Inc.Rep. Dan Lipinski almost lost his primary on Tuesday night against a challenger who had never run for office before.
The fact that Marie Newman, a first-time progressive candidate inspired to run in part by the election of President Donald Trump, almost beat Lipinski, a rare anti-abortion Democrat and an entrenched multi-term incumbent, says a lot about the country as a whole.
Read Article >Another primary election, another surge in Democratic turnout in Illinois
Getty ImagesWhile there weren’t any earth-shattering upsets in the Illinois primary election on Tuesday night, there were still more signs of a steady Democratic wave building in the fall.
Turnout among Democratic voters was up substantially over the past few midterm election cycles, according to several early reports, and more Republican voters stayed home. That is the recipe for Democrats to make big gains in the House and possibly the Senate this fall.
Read Article >Illinois primary election: live results of key races
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is up for reelection this year. Scott Olson/Getty ImagesIllinois’s primary has wrapped, and voters chose their top candidates to run in the state’s governor’s race and 18 congressional races this November. We have the live results from key races below, courtesy of Decision Desk HQ.
It was an exciting primary on several fronts.
Read Article >Illinois primary 2018: J.B. Pritzker wins the Democratic primary for governor
Scott Olson/Getty ImagesVenture capitalist and entrepreneur J.B. Pritzker emerged from a packed field of six candidates to win the Illinois Democratic primary for governor. Pritzker will face embattled Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in November.
The race was called around 9:30 pm by the Associated Press. Pritzker defeated two serious candidates — progressive state Sen. Daniel Biss and developer Chris Kennedy (the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s son). But even with a competitive primary, the billionaire ultimately came out on top, after spending nearly $70 million of his own money on the race.
Read Article >4 winners and 2 losers in the Illinois primary election
Gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner attends election night gathering in Chicago. John Gress/Getty ImagesIllinois primary voters went to the polls for the 2018 midterms Tuesday night, where Chicago-style machine politics showed it’s still got what it takes to win.
For Republicans, that means Gov. Bruce Rauner hung on, beating back a far-right challenger who ran ads that even the state GOP rejected. Rauner already has a target on his back since Donald Trump lost the state by 20 points in November. Plus, Rauner has been in charge through multiple financial crises, including higher education and state employee pensions.
Read Article >Illinois’s nasty gubernatorial primaries, explained
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner. Alex Wong/Getty ImagesIllinois Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner is not well liked. He is among the least popular governors in the country and has a lower approval rating than President Donald Trump in a state Trump lost by more than 20 points.
This means that the Illinois governorship is, perhaps by far, the most likely gubernatorial pickup opportunity for Democrats this November. They desperately want to improve their numbers in states; Democrats control only 16 governors’ mansions around the country.
Read Article >One of the last anti-abortion Democrats could lose his seat to a progressive challenger Tuesday
Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), who faces a challenge from Marie Newman in the 2018 Illinois primary election. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call,Inc.Rep. Dan Lipinski is a rare Democrat who opposes abortion rights. He’s also a rare incumbent who is in a real race in the Illinois primary election on Tuesday night.
Lipinski, an incumbent Congress member in the Third Congressional District, faces Marie Newman, a first-time candidate and a supporter of abortion rights who has been endorsed by pro-choice groups like NARAL Pro-Choice America and Emily’s List, which works to get pro-choice Democratic women elected to office. The race is tight — a poll conducted on behalf of NARAL at the end of February put Lipinski just 2 points ahead of Newman. Recently, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stepped in to back Lipinski.
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