What to expect in the Illinois state primary

WASHINGTON (AP) — Multiple political storylines will converge in Illinois on Tuesday when the state holds primaries shaped by attempted comebacks, the retirement of longtime incumbents and the looming 2028 presidential campaign.

Voters will choose nominees for a full slate of offices, including governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, the state Legislature and local offices.

Topping the ballot is the race to succeed Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who is retiring after five terms. Among the Democrats running are U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who has Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker’s endorsement. The Republican field includes former state Republican Party chair Don Tracy and attorney Jeannie Evans.

Krishnamoorthi dwarfed both fields in fundraising at the end of February, with about $6.6 million in the bank after transferring more than $19 million from his U.S. House campaign account. Tracy was the top fundraiser among Republicans, with about $1.8 million in the bank.

Unlike the state’s other U.S. Senate seat, which recently ended a streak of five consecutive occupants who served for one term or less, Durbin’s seat has had much less turnover. Durbin took office in 1997 and is only the second person to hold the seat in more than 40 years.

In the race for governor, Pritzker is unopposed in his bid for renomination. President Donald Trump’s return to office in 2025 has heightened Pritzker’s national profile, and the two-term incumbent governor is now among a handful of Democrats dominating speculation about the 2028 Democratic presidential race.

In the Republican primary, four candidates look to thwart Pritzker’s reelection bid in November, including former state Sen. Darren Bailey, who lost to Pritzker in the 2022 governor’s race.

The state’s largest counties tend to play a critical role in both Democratic and Republican primaries, with Chicago’s Cook County by far the largest prize. In the Senate race, eight of the 10 Democrats running are from Chicago or its nearby suburbs in Cook County, potentially diluting any hometown advantage in the region.

The winners of statewide Democratic primaries typically have an advantage heading into November, considering Democrats have won recent key statewide general elections with more than 55% of the vote.

In the U.S. House primaries, Kelly’s and Krishnamoorthi’s Senate bids and the retirements of longtime Democratic U.S. Reps. Danny Davis and Jan Schakowsky have attracted crowded fields of candidates running to replace them.

Among the hopefuls are two former Democratic members mounting political comebacks. In the 2nd Congressional District, Jesse Jackson Jr. is running to replace Kelly, who replaced Jackson in 2013 following his conviction in a campaign fraud case. He is the son of civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died Feb. 17. His primary opponents include Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller and state Sens. Robert Peters and Willie Preston.

In the 8th Congressional District Democratic primary, former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean is running to replace Krishnamoorthi in a field that includes Neil Khot, Junaid Ahmed and Dan Tully. Durbin’s pick in the race is his former aide Yasmeen Bankole.

The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

Illinois does not have an automatic recount law. Candidates who receive at least 95% of the first-place candidate’s vote may request and pay for a limited recount, but the recount results are nonbinding and will not change the outcome of the election. A court may also order a recount as part of an election contest case. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 7 p.m. local time, which is 8 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The AP will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, secretary of state, comptroller, state Senate and state House, as well as some local races in Cook, DuPage, Kane and Will counties. Some additional statewide offices, such as state attorney general and treasurer, will also be on the ballot, but the races are uncontested, aside from the write-in option.

Who gets to vote?

Any eligible voter may participate in any party’s primary. Illinois allows voters to register on Election Day.

What do turnout and advance vote look like?

As of Friday, there were about 8,976,000, registered voters in Illinois. The state does not register voters by party.

About 857,000 votes were cast in the 2022 Democratic U.S. Senate primary and about 715,000 in the Republican primary. Roughly 33% of the total vote was cast before primary day.

More than 535,000 ballots had already been cast in the primary as of Friday.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2024 presidential primaries, the AP first reported results in Illinois at 8:09 p.m. ET, or nine minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 2:11 a.m. ET, with about 92% of total votes counted.

When are early and absentee votes released?

While a handful of Illinois counties may release early and absentee vote results at the start of the night, the bulk of counties merge them with Election Day results throughout the night or release them toward the end of the tabulation process.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 231 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.