2026 Illinois gubernatorial election
The 2026 Illinois gubernatorial election will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect the Governor of Illinois. Primary elections will be held on March 17, 2026. This election will coincide with various other federal and state elections, including the U.S. Senate elections and U.S. House elections.
Incumbent governor JB Pritzker is running for re-election to a third term in office. However, Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, who ran with Pritzker in both 2018 and 2022, is running for U.S. Senate, making her ineligible to be Pritzker's running mate.
Background
A moderately to strongly blue state, Illinois has a reputation for being both the most populous and the most left-leaning state in the Midwest, traits vastly owed to the progressive and diverse Chicago metropolitan area. Though the state has historically favored Republicans for governor, Democrats have won all but one gubernatorial race in Illinois since 2002, the exception being Bruce Rauner's narrow victory in 2014. In addition, Democrats have won Illinois by double-digit margins in every presidential race since 1992; and consistently occupied all of its statewide offices since 2019.Incumbent Governor JB Pritzker, a member of the Democratic Party, has comfortably won in the past two elections, having first been elected with a 15.6% lead in 2018 and won re-election by 12.5% in 2022. Despite the state's strong Democratic lean, Republicans are comfortably favored in most of rural Illinois, especially in much of West Central and Southern Illinois. Illinois is one of 16 states that do not have gubernatorial term limits. If Pritzker were to win, he would be the first governor elected to a third term since Jim Thompson in 1982.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Declared
- JB Pritzker, incumbent governor
- *Running mate: Christian Mitchell, former deputy governor and former state representative
Disqualified
- Patricia Tillman, former candidate for Chicago City Council
- *Running mate: Joseph Mosley
Republican primary
Candidates
Declared
- Darren Bailey, former state senator from the 55th district, nominee for governor in 2022 and candidate for Illinois's 12th congressional district in 2024
- *Running mate: Aaron Del Mar, Palatine Township Highway Commissioner, chair of the Cook County Republican Party, and candidate for lieutenant governor in 2022
- Ted Dabrowski, conservative news website president
- *Running mate: Carrie Mendoza, leader of FAIR In Medicine
- Rick Heidner, real estate developer and founder of Gold Rush Gaming
- *Running mate: Christina Neitzke-Troike, Homer Glen mayor
- James Mendrick, DuPage County Sheriff
- *Running mate: Robert Renteria, author and businessman
Withdrawn
- Phil Perez, member of the Posen Park District Commission
- Max Solomon, attorney and candidate for governor in 2022
- *Running mate: Geno Young, candidate for Illinois's 1st congressional district in 2022
Disqualified
- Joseph Severino, capital management professional, nominee for in 2022 and independent candidate in 2024
- *Running mate: Rantch Isquith, bank examiner
Declined
- Scott Gartner, mayor of Antioch
- Jeanne Ives, former state representative from the 42nd district, candidate for governor in 2018, and nominee for in 2020 '
- Darin LaHood, U.S. representative from '
- Dan Ugaste, state representative from the 65th district ''''
General election
Polling
JB Pritzker vs. Darren Bailey| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | JB Pritzker | Darren Bailey | Undecided |
| Victory Research | November 20–24, 2025 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 54% | 34% | 12% |