Illinois US Senate 2026
Election day is November 3, 2026. A statewide contest in Illinois.
Who is favoured in Illinois US Senate?
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What the Illinois US Senate election decides
The Senate confirms federal judges and cabinet officers, ratifies treaties, and can stop legislation the House passes. With a six-year term and a hundred-member chamber, a single seat is a larger share of the institution than any House district, which is why Senate races draw national money into state contests.
Each state sends two senators regardless of population, so this seat carries the same weight as California's or Wyoming's. Illinois voters fill it alongside all 17 of the state's House seats and the governorship, and a Senate term runs six years, spanning two future Congresses and, in this case, the next presidential election.
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 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Illinois. Democratic lieutenant governor Juliana Stratton defeated Republican former state party chair Don Tracy. Democratic incumbent Dick Durbin did not seek a sixth term.
Primary elections were held on March 17. Supported by Governor JB Pritzker, Stratton won the Democratic nomination with 40.4% of the vote over representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly. Tracy won the Republican nomination with 40% of the vote over attorney Jeannie Evans.
With the election of Stratton, Illinois became the first state to be represented by two women of color in the United States Senate as she will serve alongside Tammy Duckworth, who is Asian American.
Latest coverage of the Illinois US Senate race
WATCH: Illinois U.S. Senate candidates face off in forum to replace DurbinIllinois 2026 Election ResultsWho is running for U.S. Senate in Illinois in the 2026 general election?Illinois Senate race 2026: Candidates Juliana Stratton, Don Tracy, Whitfield Harrington Jr. outline priorities ahead of electionWhat to know about Illinois legislative races ahead of the Nov. 3 electionIllinois Senate race: Juliana Stratton, F-bomb ads behind her, leans on primary performance versus Don Tracy3 takeaways from Illinois election results, Juliana Stratton's victoryIllinois U.S. Senate Election 2026: Latest PollsThe 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.