2022 Illinois gubernatorial election
The 2022 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Illinois, concurrently with the 2022 Illinois general election. Gubernatorial candidates ran on tickets with candidates for lieutenant governor. The incumbent governor and lieutenant governor, first-term Democrats JB Pritzker and Juliana Stratton, sought re-election together against Republican nominees Illinois State Senator Darren Bailey and his running mate Stephanie Trussell.
On election day, Pritzker won re-election with 54.9% of the vote, 0.4% higher than his 2018 performance, and the best raw vote percentage for a Democrat for governor since 1960. However, his margin of victory declined from 15.7% in 2018 to 12.5% in 2022. Pritzker's victory was once again the result of a strong performance in the Chicago metropolitan area—containing a majority of the state's population—winning a lopsided victory in strongly Democratic Cook County, the home of Chicago, as well as winning all but one of the neighboring collar counties. Bailey improved upon former Republican governor Bruce Rauner's performance in 2018 by just under 4%, largely due to the absence of a strong third-party conservative candidate that appeared in 2018. Subsequently, Bailey was able to flip the counties of Alexander, Fulton, Jackson, Knox, and Winnebago, which Pritzker had previously won, while Pritzker managed to flip McLean county, marking the first time since 1948 that it has voted for a Democrat in a gubernatorial election.
Pritzker was the first Illinois governor to serve a full term and be reelected for a second since Rod Blagojevich in 2006. If Pritzker serves the entirety of his term, he will become the first Democratic governor in the state's history to serve two full four-year terms, as every previous Democratic governor elected to such a second term had either been impeached and removed, died, or resigned before finishing their second term.
Background
The primaries and general elections coincided with those for federal congressional races, the state's U.S. Senate race, and those for other state offices. The election was part of the 2022 Illinois elections.The primary election was held on June 28. The general election was held on November 8, 2022.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- JB Pritzker, incumbent governor
- *Running mate: Juliana Stratton, incumbent lieutenant governor
Eliminated in primary
- Beverly Miles, U.S. Army veteran, registered nurse and activist
- *Running mate: Karla Shaw
Endorsements
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Darren Bailey, state senator
- * Running mate: Stephanie Trussell, former radio talk show host from Lisle, Illinois
Eliminated in primary
- Richard Irvin, mayor of Aurora
- *Running mate: Avery Bourne, state representative
- Gary Rabine, businessman
- *Running mate: Aaron Del Mar, Palatine Township Republican Committeeman
- Paul Schimpf, former state senator and nominee for Attorney General in 2014
- *Running mate: Carolyn Schofield, McHenry County Board member
- Max Solomon, Attorney
- *Running Mate: Latasha Fields
- Jesse Sullivan, venture capitalist
- *Running mate: Kathleen Murphy, former director of communications for state representative Jeanne Ives
Removed from ballot
- Emily Johnson
- Keisha Smith
Declined
- Rodney Davis, U.S. representative for
- Kirk Dillard, chair of the Regional Transportation Authority, former state senator, and candidate for governor in 2010 and 2014
- Adam Kinzinger, U.S. representative for
- Todd Ricketts, finance chair of the Republican National Committee, member of the TD Ameritrade Board of Directors, and co-owner of the Chicago Cubs
Endorsements
Polling
Graphical summary| Source of poll aggregation | Dates administered | Dates updated | Darren Bailey | Richard Irvin | Gary Rabine | Paul Schimpf | Max Solomon | Jesse Sullivan | Other | Margin |
| Real Clear Politics | June 6–13, 2022 | June 15, 2022 | 35.0% | 18.5% | 7.0% | 4.5% | 1.5% | 11.5% | 22.0% | Bailey +16.5 |
Results
Libertarian convention
Candidates
Nominee
- Scott Schluter, veteran, diesel technician, and chair of the Southern Illinois Libertarian Party
- *Running mate: John Phillips
Withdrew
- Jon Stewart, former professional wrestler and candidate in 2018
Other parties and independents
Independents
Declared but never filed
- Mancow Muller, radio personality
Removed from ballot
- Tommy Belg
General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | March 4, 2022 | |
| Inside Elections | March 4, 2022 | |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | June 29, 2022 | |
| Politico | April 1, 2022 | |
| RCP | October 26, 2022 | |
| Fox News | August 22, 2022 | |
| 538 | June 30, 2022 | |
| Elections Daily | November 7, 2022 |
Post-primary endorsements
Polling
Aggregate polls| Source of poll aggregation | Dates administered | J.B Pritzker | Darren Bailey | Scott Schluter | Margin |
| FiveThirtyEight | June 21– November 8, 2022 | 56.1% | 39.9% | 4.8% | Pritzker +16.2 |
Graphical summary
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | JB Pritzker | Darren Bailey | Scott Schluter | Other | Undecided |
| Victory Research | November 5–7, 2022 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 49% | 42% | 5% | – | 4% |
| Research Co. | November 4–6, 2022 | 450 | ± 4.6% | 56% | 37% | 2% | – | 5% |
| Civiqs | October 22–25, 2022 | 659 | ± 4.3% | 56% | 39% | – | 3% | 1% |
| Emerson College | October 20–24, 2022 | 1,000 | ± 3.0% | 50% | 41% | 3% | 2% | 4% |
| Emerson College | October 20–24, 2022 | 1,000 | ± 3.0% | 52% | 42% | 3% | 3% | – |
| University of Illinois Springfield | October 17 – 25, 2022 | 1,000 | ± 3.5% | 55% | 40% | 5% | – | – |
| Osage Research | October 13–15, 2022 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 44% | 42% | 4% | – | 10% |
| Public Policy Polling | October 10–11, 2022 | 770 | ± 3.5% | 49% | 34% | 8% | – | 9% |
| Research America | October 5–11, 2022 | 1,000 | ± 3.1% | 50% | 28% | 6% | 4% | 13% |
| Fabrizio, Lee & Associates | September 25–27, 2022 | 800 | ± 3.5% | 50% | 45% | – | – | 5% |
| Fabrizio, Lee & Associates | September 25–27, 2022 | 800 | ± 3.5% | 48% | 40% | 3% | – | 8% |
| Emerson College | September 21–23, 2022 | 1,000 | ± 3.0% | 51% | 36% | – | 5% | 8% |
| Osage Research | September 8–10, 2022 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 44% | 37% | 8% | – | 13% |
| Victory Research | August 30 – September 1, 2022 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 47% | 36% | 2% | – | 15% |
| Victory Geek | August 25–28, 2022 | 512 | ± 4.3% | 56% | 38% | – | – | 6% |
| Fabrizio, Lee & Associates | August, 2022 | 800 | ± 3.5% | 50% | 38% | 3% | – | 10% |
| Fabrizio, Lee & Associates | August, 2022 | 800 | ± 3.5% | 52% | 42% | – | – | 6% |
| Victory Research | July 17–19, 2022 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 49% | 39% | 2% | – | 10% |
| Fabrizio Lee & Associates | June 20–21, 2022 | 800 | ± 3.5% | 50% | 43% | – | – | 7% |
| Victory Research | January 18–20, 2022 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 55% | 27% | – | – | 17% |
JB Pritzker vs. Richard Irvin
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | JB Pritzker | Richard Irvin | Undecided |
| Victory Research | January 18–20, 2022 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 53% | 22% | 25% |
JB Pritzker vs. Gary Rabine
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | JB Pritzker | Gary Rabine | Undecided |
| Victory Research | January 18–20, 2022 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 52% | 28% | 19% |
JB Pritzker vs. Paul Schimpf
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | JB Pritzker | Paul Schimpf | Undecided |
| Victory Research | January 18–20, 2022 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 56% | 22% | 22% |
JB Pritzker vs. Jesse Sullivan
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | JB Pritzker | Jesse Sullivan | Undecided |
| Victory Research | January 18–20, 2022 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 53% | 22% | 25% |
JB Pritzker vs. generic Republican
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | JB Pritzker | Generic Republican | Undecided |
| Victory Geek | November 8–10, 2021 | 800 | ± 3.5% | 49% | 41% | 10% |
JB Pritzker vs. generic opponent
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | JB Pritzker | Generic Opponent | Undecided |
| Victory Research | July 17–19, 2022 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 47% | 47% | 6% |
| Fabrizio Lee & Associates | June 20–21, 2022 | 800 | ± 3.5% | 47% | 50% | 3% |
Generic Democrat vs. generic Republican
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Generic Democrat | Generic Republican | Undecided |
| Fabrizio Lee & Associates | June 20–21, 2022 | 800 | ± 3.5% | 46% | 44% | 10% |