The 2026 United States Senate election in Illinois will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Illinois. Incumbent Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who was re-elected in 2020 with 54.9% of the vote, has declined to seek a sixth term in office. This will be the first open Senate seat race in Illinois since 2010 and the first for this Class II seat since 1996, when Durbin was first elected. Primary elections were held on March 17, 2026.
On April 23, 2025, incumbent Senator Dick Durbin, who has served in the seat since 1997, announced that he would not seek re-election.[1] One day later, Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton declared her candidacy, becoming the first to do so; she received the immediate endorsement of Governor JB Pritzker.[2]
On May 1, NBC 5 Chicago reported that Pritzker and his allies were attempting to dissuade other prominent Democrats from entering the primary, in particular U.S. Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi, Robin Kelly and Lauren Underwood. Krishnamoorthi had already raised $19 million by then while Underwood led in some polls.[3] Pritzker denied this report.[4] On May 6, Kelly announced her campaign.[5] The next day, Krishnamoorthi entered the race.[6] On May 19, Underwood declined to run in the primary, opting instead to run for re-election to the House.[7]
By July, Krishnamoorthi had amassed the largest amount of money raised, with about $21 million raised. The three most notable candidates have earned numerous high-level endorsements as well; Stratton received the endorsements of many suburban Democrats and leaders in the State House along with figures like Senator Tammy Duckworth, Krishnamoorthi has garnered primarily local support from suburban towns, while Kelly was endorsed by much of the Congressional Black Caucus as well as gun violence prevention and LGBT advocacy groups.[8]
Krishnamoorthi argued that his experience on the House Intelligence Committee would allow him to effectively engage in foreign policy matters, such as issues with China, while in the Senate. He has also sought to prioritize economic mobility as a main issue, seeking to appeal to middle-class voters.[9] Stratton has received the financial backing of Pritzker and other members of his family.[10] Stratton has stated that she will not accept corporate PAC donations — though has accepted the individual donations of billionaires — while Krishnamoorthi and Kelly have accepted corporate PAC donations.[11][12]
The campaign has been notable for its focus on ICE, with Krishnamoorthi and Stratton in particular attacking each other’s relationship to the agency.[13] By December 2025, Krishnamoorthi's campaign had raised $24 million in donations, including more than $90,000 from donors associated with President Donald Trump, ICE contractor Palantir, White House State Ballroom construction and The Heritage Foundation.[14][15] Meanwhile, the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association, a political action committee funding Stratton’s campaign, has raised over one hundred thousand dollars from CoreCivic, another ICE contractor.[13][16]
WBEZ also hosted a forum with lower-polling candidates from both parties, with Democrats Steve Botsford, Sean Brown, Jonathan Dean, Bryan Maxwell, Kevin Ryan, and Christopher Swann attending.[135]
↑Kevin Ryan with 3%; Christopher Swan with 1%; Steve Botsford, Sean Brown, Awisi Bustos, Jonathan Dean, and Brian Maxwell with 0%
123The press release that is the source of this poll only lists percentages for the candidates, so the positions of the remaining respondents are unknown.
↑Lesniewski, Niels; Altimari, Daniela; McIntire, Mary Ellen (February 19, 2026). "At the Races: Sitting tight in Texas". Roll Call. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
↑"Who will fill Dick Durbin's US Senate seat in Illinois? Here are the candidates". Chicago Tribune. May 15, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025. Others who have filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission stating their interest in running for the Senate seat were Democrats Christopher Alexander Swann, Stanley Leavell and Austin James Mink; Republicans John Goodman, Casimer Chlebek and Douglas Bennett; independent Anthony Smith and Joseph David Schilling.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
