Cold weather to greet Illinois voters Tuesday as primary features open US Senate, crowded House races
Voters will go to the polls on Tuesday and choose Democratic and Republican candidates for offices ranging from U.S. Senate and Governor to state legislature and county positions, ending an expensive and often noisy primary election season.
Polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., and those planning to vote in the morning will receive a wake-up call due to the weather.
“Election Day looks windy and cold but no precipitation,” retired broadcast meteorologist Tom Skilling told the Tribune. “It’s unseasonably cold — highs only in the low to mid 20s — and moderately windy, especially in the morning. Voters will need to pack in.”
Skilling’s forecast is for temperatures to be around 10 degrees at dawn, with a high of 21 degrees in the afternoon. However, he said, “The wind will (be) chilly around 5 degrees opening on Election Day, and will ‘warm’ to over 10 degrees by Tuesday afternoon.”
The forecast points to the possibility of low turnout among Election Day voters. traditionally more Republican-leaning and they tend to support President Donald Trump’s opposition to early voting and voting by mail, practices largely adopted by Democrats.
However, weather conditions also complicated the final campaign efforts. Unstable skies outside the state forced the cancellation of an event attended by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Sunday. third term questand fellow two-term candidate Juliana Stratton. Democratic US Senate nomination.
Monday’s snow forced Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey to cancel a flight plan covering the state’s six cities on Tuesday. Instead, he planned a virtual evening event.
As turbulent as the weather is, so is TV and commercial broadcasts and political mailings from special interests seeking to influence voters as well as candidates. Those will culminate with Tuesday’s vote, but not after more than $92 million has been spent in the U.S. Senate race. Four open-seat contests for the U.S. HouseAccording to political ad tracking firm Ad Impact.
This was U.S. Senator Dick Durbin’s decision not seeking sixth termwith the retirement of senior U.S. Representatives. Jan Schakowsky Evanston and Danny Davis A creation of Chicago political cascade of contested races in preliminary voting.
U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg and Robin Kelly of Lynwood join Stratton as leading Democrats running for the U.S. Senate nomination. But Krishnamoorthi and Kelly’s decision to try to climb the political ladder for a six-year Senate term has also led to contentious races in the northwest suburban 8th District and the South Side, south suburban and rural 2nd District.
In total, 46 people filed for Democratic nominations in the four U.S. House of Representatives districts and 11 people filed for GOP nominations. Given the gerrymandering of the state’s congressional districts by Democrats, the winners of the Democratic primary in the Nov. 3 general election are heavily favored.
Ten Democrats and one Republican are on the primary ballot for the 2nd Congressional District seat where Kelly gave up running for Senate. Davis’ retirement opened the 7th Congressional District to a race of 13 Democrats and two Republicans. Krishnamoorthi’s bid for the U.S. Senate resulted in an 8th Congressional District race with eight Democrats and four Republicans, while Schakowsky’s retirement from the 9th Congressional District opened the door to a field of 15 Democrats and four Republicans.
In addition to Krishnamoorthi, Kelly and Stratton, others seeking the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination include Kevin Ryan, Steve Botsford Jr., Bryan Maxwell, Jonathan Dean, Sean Brown, Awisi Bustos and Christopher Swann.
In the race for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination are former Illinois GOP Chairman Don Tracy; attorney Jeannie Evans; Casey Chlebek, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP U.S. Senate nomination in 2020 and 2022; Pamela Denise Long; Jimmy Lee Tillman II; and R. Cary Capparelli.
Four Democrats are also running for state auditor, seeking to replace incumbent Susana Mendoza, who has opted not to seek re-election. The Democratic auditor candidates are state Rep. Margaret Croke of Chicago, state Sen. Karina Villa of West Chicago, Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego and Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim.
There are four Republicans on the GOP ballot for the party’s nomination for governor: Bailey, a former lawmaker and unsuccessful 2022 candidate against Pritzker; Ted Dabrowski, former president of the conservative activist group Wirepoints; Rick Heidner, owner of a real estate and video gambling firm; and DuPage County James Mendrick. Pritzker, who is also considering a possible 2028 run for the White House, is unopposed in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Ahead of Democratic voting in Cook County, Board Chairman Toni Preckwinkle appears to be running for a fifth term against Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42. Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, running for a third term, faces a challenge from Lyon County Assessor Pat Hynes.
In DuPage County, Mendrick’s decision to run for governor created a GOP primary for sheriff between Deputy Sheriff Eddie Moore and former County Board member Sean Noonan. Peter Coolidge has no rival on the Democratic side.
Democrats in DuPage will also decide whether County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek will run for a third term against County Board member Paula Deacon Garcia.
