Illinois Governor 2026
Election day is November 3, 2026. A statewide contest in Illinois.
Who is favoured in Illinois Governor?
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What the Illinois Governor election decides
State government decides most of what touches daily life directly: schools, roads, policing, public health, utilities regulation, and the state's share of healthcare programs. A governor's veto and budget proposal set the boundaries of what a legislature can do.
A governor signs or vetoes state law, proposes the state budget, commands the state's emergency response, and in most states shapes how elections themselves are administered. Illinois decides this alongside its 17 House seats and a U.S. Senate seat. Governors are judged on results inside the state rather than on national mood alone, which is why governor's races often break differently from federal contests held the same day.
How Illinois votes
Illinois is dominated by Chicago and its collar counties, balanced against a large downstate region with different economics and politics. Democrats hold a firm statewide advantage, while taxes, pensions and public safety drive much of the argument. That backdrop is the ground any Illinois campaign fights on, and it is what the Electorate HQ simulation reads first when it weighs a ticket's platform against this contest.
About this race
The 2026 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Illinois. Democratic incumbent JB Pritzker sought a third term in office against Republican nominee Darren Bailey, whom he defeated in 2022. Pritzker defeated Bailey a second time, becoming the first Illinois governor to be reelected to a third term since Jim Thompson in 1982, and the first Democrat to do so in the state's history. Pritzker outperformed his 2022 margin of victory by double digits.
Primary elections were held on March 17, 2026. Pritzker secured the Democratic nomination unopposed, while Darren Bailey secured the Republican nomination with 54% of the vote. Pritzker selected Christian Mitchell as his running mate, as incumbent lieutenant governor Juliana Stratton ran as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.
The election was the first gubernatorial rematch in Illinois since 1986. In the general election, Pritzker won with approximately 60% of the vote, an improvment of five percentage points from 2022. This is the first time a Democratic candidate for governor has won 60% or more of the vote in Illinois, as well as the first time Sangamon County went for the Democratic candidate for governor since 1964, and the first time for McHenry County since 1852.
Latest coverage of the Illinois Governor race
Illinois 2026 Election ResultsIllinois Gov. JB Pritzker beats Darren Bailey for 3rd term, leaving one question: Will he run for president?Who is running for Illinois governor in 2026? Democrat JB Pritzker faces rematch with Republican Darren Bailey.Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker wins a third term in IllinoisIllinois Governor Election Results 2026: JB Pritzker WinsWATCH: Illinois U.S. Senate candidates face off in forum to replace DurbinHere are 9 races to watch in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana in midterm election3 takeaways from Illinois election results, Juliana Stratton's victoryThe rest of the Illinois ballot
Every Illinois House district, the counties inside each one, and an address lookup that resolves your exact districts are on the Illinois state page.
Other 2026 races in Illinois
Analysis covering Illinois
Ten whole congressional districts fit inside Los Angeles County
Seventy-nine of the 435 districts sit entirely within a single county. Ten of them are in one county in California.
Twenty-six states elect a senator and a governor on the same day in 2026
The overlap between the Senate class and the gubernatorial cohort is a coincidence of two unrelated calendars, and it decides where money goes.