2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois
Elections were held on November 2, 2010, to determine Illinois's 19 members of the United States House of Representatives. Representatives were elected for two-year terms to serve in the 112th United States Congress from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. Primary elections were held on February 2, 2010.
Of the 19 elections, the 10th, 11th, 14th and 17th districts were rated as competitive by CQ Politics and The Rothenberg Political Report; while the 8th, 10th, 11th, 14th and 17th districts were rated as competitive by The Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball.
Of Illinois's nineteen U.S. Representatives, fourteen were re-elected. Republican Mark Kirk of the 10th district did not seek re-election in order to run for the U.S. Senate, while Democrats Melissa Bean of the 8th district, Debbie Halvorson of the 11th district, Bill Foster of the 14th district and Phil Hare of the 17th district were defeated in the general election. Joe Walsh, Adam Kinzinger, Randy Hultgren, and Bobby Schilling were all elected to fill those Democratic-held seats. Bob Dold won Kirk's old seat.
As a result, Illinois became one of four states in which the party that won the state's popular vote did not win a majority of seats in 2010, the other states being Iowa, New Jersey, and North Carolina. As of 2025, this is the last time Republicans won a majority of congressional districts from Illinois.
Overview
Results of the 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois by district:District 1
In 2010 the 1st district included parts of Blue Island, Chicago, Oak Forest, Orland Park and Tinley Park. The district's population was 63 percent black, 26 percent white and 8 percent Hispanic ; 83 percent were high school graduates and 21 percent had received a bachelor's degree or higher. Its median income was $42,727. In the 2008 presidential election the district gave 87 percent of its vote to Democratic nominee Barack Obama and 13 percent to Republican nominee John McCain.Democrat Bobby Rush, who took office in 1993, was the incumbent. Rush was re-elected with 86 percent of the vote in 2008. In 2010 his opponent in the general election was Republican nominee Ray Wardingley, a retired entertainer. Green Party nominee Jeff Adams also ran. Harold Bailey, a manager for the Chicago Park District; Joanne Guillemette, an attorney; and Fred Smith, a program director at Maryville Academy, also sought the Democratic nomination. Adams was unopposed for the Green nomination.
Rush raised $532,447 and spent $555,188. Rush was re-elected with 80 percent of the vote to Wardingley's 16 percent. Rush was again re-elected in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Democratic primary results
Predictions
General election results
District 2
The 2nd district included Calumet City, Chicago Heights and part of Chicago. The district's population was 68 percent black, 18 percent white and 13 percent Hispanic ; 83 percent were high school graduates and 21 percent had received a bachelor's degree or higher. Its median income was $45,930. In the 2008 presidential election the district gave 90 percent of its vote to Democratic nominee Barack Obama and 10 percent to Republican nominee John McCain.Democrat Jesse Jackson, Jr., who took office in 1995, was the incumbent. Jackson was re-elected with 89 percent of the vote in 2008. In 2010 Jackson's opponent in the general election was Republican nominee Isaac Hayes, an associate minister at the Apostolic Church of God. Green Party nominee Anthony Williams also ran. Jackson and Hayes were unopposed in their respective primaries. Michael Mayden also sought the Green nomination.
Jackson raised $795,723 and spent $1,032,506. Hayes raised $74,664 and spent $62,282. Prior to the election FiveThirtyEight's forecast gave Jackson a 100 percent chance of winning, and projected that he would receive 77 percent of the vote to Hayes's 20 percent. On election day Jackson was re-elected with 81 percent of the vote to Hayes's 14 percent, while Williams received 6 percent. Jackson was again re-elected in November 2012, but resigned from Congress the same month following ethics investigations and a diagnosis of mental illness. He was succeeded by fellow Democrat Robin Kelly.
Green primary results
Predictions
General election results
District 3
The 3rd district included Oak Lawn and parts of Berwyn and Chicago. The district's population was 58 percent white, 31 percent Hispanic and 6 percent black ; 81 percent were high school graduates and 23 percent had received a bachelor's degree or higher. Its median income was $56,296. In the 2008 presidential election the district gave 64 percent of its vote to Democratic nominee Barack Obama and 35 percent to Republican nominee John McCain.Democrat Dan Lipinski, who took office in 2005, was the incumbent. Lipinski was re-elected with 73 percent of the vote in 2008. In 2010 Lipinski's opponent in the general election was Republican nominee Michael A. Bendas, a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. Green Party nominee Laurel Lambert Schmidt, a peace activist, also ran. Jorge Mujica, a community activist and former journalist, also sought the Democratic nomination. Bendas and Lambert Schmidt were unopposed in their respective primaries.
Lipinski raised $752,199 and spent $455,329. Bendas raised $28,807 and spent $39,962. Mujica raised $12,668 and spent the same amount.
On election day Lipinski was re-elected with 70 percent of the vote to Bendas's 24 percent. Lipinski was again re-elected in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Democratic primary results
Predictions
General election results
District 4
The 4th district included parts of Chicago, Cicero and Melrose Park. The district's population was 72 percent Hispanic, 19 percent white and 5 percent black ; 62 percent were high school graduates and 20 percent had received a bachelor's degree or higher. Its median income was $42,018. In the 2008 presidential election the district gave 85 percent of its vote to Democratic nominee Barack Obama and 13 percent to Republican nominee John McCain.Democrat Luis Gutiérrez, who took office in 1993, was the incumbent. Gutiérrez was re-elected with 81 percent of the vote in 2008. In 2010 Gutiérrez's opponent in the general election was Republican nominee Israel Vasquez, the chief executive officer of Woodman Holdings Asset Management. Green Party nominee Robert J. Burns, a software architect, also ran. Gutiérrez and Burns were unopposed in their respective primaries.
Gutiérrez raised $512,939 and spent $378,842. Gutiérrez was re-elected with 77 percent of the vote to Vasquez's 14 percent, while Burns received 8 percent. Gutiérrez was again re-elected in 2012, 2014 and 2016, and retired rather than re-election in 2018. He was succeeded by fellow Democrat Jesús "Chuy" García.
Predictions
General election results
District 5
The 5th district included parts of Chicago and Elmwood Park. The district's population was 60 percent white, 28 percent Hispanic and 7 percent Asian ; 83 percent were high school graduates and 37 percent had received a bachelor's degree or higher. Its median income was $60,427. In the 2008 presidential election the district gave 73 percent of its vote to Democratic nominee Barack Obama and 26 percent to Republican nominee John McCain.Democrat Mike Quigley, who took office in 2009, was the incumbent. Quigley was elected in a special election in April 2009 with 70 percent of the vote. In 2010 Quigley's opponent in the general election was Republican nominee David Ratowitz, an attorney and activist. Green Party nominee Matthew Reichel also ran. Quigley was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Ashvin Lad, a biomedical engineer; and Rosanna Pulido, an activist and lobbyist, also sought the Republican nomination. Terrence Gilhooly and Andrew Williams, who ran with the intention of highlighting the issue of campaign finance, also sought the Green nomination.
Quigley raised $1,301,374 and spent $1,087,121. Ratowitz raised $64,276 and spent the same amount. Prior to the election FiveThirtyEight's forecast gave Quigley a 100 percent chance of winning and projected that he would receive 69 percent of the vote to Ratowitz's 29 percent. On election day Quigley was re-elected with 71 percent of the vote to Ratowitz's 25 percent. Quigley was again re-elected in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Republican primary results
Green primary results
Predictions
General election results
District 6
The 6th district included Addison, Carol Stream, Lombard and parts of Elmhurst, Streamwood and Wheaton. The district's population was 68 percent white, 17 percent Hispanic and 10 percent Asian ; 89 percent were high school graduates and 36 percent had received a bachelor's degree or higher. Its median income was $71,058. In the 2008 presidential election the district gave 56 percent of its vote to Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama and 43 percent to Republican Party nominee John McCain.Republican Peter Roskam, who took office in 2007, was the incumbent. Roskam was re-elected in 2008 with 58 percent of the vote. In 2010 Roskam's opponent in the general election was Democratic nominee Ben Lowe, a local organizer and environmentalist. Roskam and Lowe were unopposed in their respective primaries.
Roskam raised $2,381,858 and spent $1,251,223. Lowe raised $66,632 and spent $63,300. Prior to the election FiveThirtyEight's forecast gave Roskam a 100 percent chance of winning and projected that he would receive 63 percent of the vote to Lowe's 35 percent. On election day Roskam was re-elected with 64 percent of the vote to Lowe's 36 percent. Roskam was again re-elected in 2012, 2014, and 2016, and unsuccessfully sought re-election in 2018. He was succeeded by Democrat Sean Casten.