{"id":664209,"date":"2026-03-18T10:38:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T10:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/664209\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T10:38:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T10:38:21","slug":"pritzker-to-face-bailey-again-preckwinkle-defeats-reilly-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/664209\/","title":{"rendered":"Pritzker To Face Bailey \u2014 Again, Preckwinkle Defeats Reilly And More"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO \u2014 Primary Election Day saw few surprises for the Chicago area \u2014 but plenty of interesting results.<\/p>\n

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton claimed the Democratic nomination for Senate, defeating Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi in a close race; and Gov. JB Pritzker will face Republican challenger Darren Bailey \u2014 again \u2014 in November\u2019s gubernatorial election.<\/p>\n

The general election is Nov. 3.<\/p>\n

Here are key takeaways from primary Election Day:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Voter Turnout<\/p>\n

Early, unofficial numbers had voter turnout at about 25 percent. That\u2019s expected to rise somewhat as final vote-by-mail and provisional ballots come in.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how it broke down:<\/p>\n

Votes by Age Group<\/strong>
18-24<\/strong>: 19,605 ballots cast
25-34<\/strong>: 65,658 ballots cast
35-44<\/strong>: 61,313 ballots cast
45-54<\/strong>: 53,972 ballots cast
55-64<\/strong>: 67,714 ballots cast
65-74<\/strong>: 73,154 ballots cast
75 and older<\/strong>: 53,469 ballots cast<\/p>\n

Votes By Gender<\/strong>
Female:<\/strong> 223,376 ballots cast
Male:<\/strong> 171,385 ballots cast
Non-Binary\/X:<\/strong> 591 ballots cast
Undeclared: <\/strong>676 ballots cast<\/p>\n

Pritzker vs. Bailey, Round 2<\/p>\n

Gov. JB Pritzker was unchallenged in the Democratic primary for Illinois governor. He\u2019ll face Republican Darren Bailey, a previous political rival, in November\u2019s general election.<\/p>\n

Pritzker and Bailey faced off in 2022\u2019s gubernatorial election, with Pritzker easily winning after a contentious campaign season that saw the two repeatedly trade insults.<\/p>\n

Pritzker, the billionaire scion of a famously wealthy and politically connected family, has been courting national attention for years, with his star rising as he led Illinois during the pandemic. Seen as a more progressive politician, he\u2019s been talked about a potential presidential contender for 2028.<\/p>\n

Bailey is a millionaire farmer from southern Illinois who has served in the Illinois House and Senate. He gained attention for putting up legal challenges to Pritzker\u2019s stay at home order during the COVID-19 pandemic and for refusing to comply with a mask requirement in the state Legislature.<\/p>\n

Bailey has previously attempted to\u00a0have Chicago become its own state apart from the rest of Illinois, and he\u2019s been a critic of the state\u2019s largest city.<\/p>\n

Stratton, Tracy Headed To Senate Race<\/p>\n

When Sen. Dick Durbin announced he\u2019d retire at the end of his term, it set off a flurry of campaigning.<\/p>\n

Ten Democrats ran for the post in the primary, as did six Republicans. The race \u2014 particularly among the Democratic candidates \u2014\u00a0was contentious at times, with candidates trading attack ads.<\/p>\n

But The Associated Press called the Democratic primary for Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton about 9:45 p.m. She had 39.7 percent of the vote with 85 percent of votes counted; the closest candidate, Raja Krishnamoorthi, had 33.4 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n

Stratton will face Republican Don Tracy in November\u2019s general election. Tracy, former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, had 40 percent of the vote with 67 percent of votes counted.<\/p>\n

\"\"Toni Preckwinkle, president of Cook County Board of Commissioners, speaks during the ribbon-cutting event for the Ada S. McKinley Multi-Service Site, 6033 S. Wentworth Ave., in Englewood on Dec. 2, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Preckwinkle Fends Off Challenger<\/p>\n

Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, easily fought off a challenge from Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd).<\/p>\n

Preckwinkle has led the Cook County Board since 2010, but Reilly sought to unseat her in Tuesday\u2019s Democratic primary. Preckwinkle won handily, claiming about 68 percent of the vote with 84 percent of votes counted. She\u2019s expected to win the general election in November.<\/p>\n

Competitive Congressional Seats<\/p>\n

\u2022 Donna Miller Wins Democratic Primary For 2nd District\u2019s Seat In Congress<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 Mike Quigley Wins Democratic Primary For 5th Congressional District Seat<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 La Shawn Ford Wins Crowded Democratic Primary For 7th Congressional District<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 Biss Wins Competitive Democratic Primary For 9th Congressional District<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Rep. Jes\u00fas \u201cChuy\u201d Garc\u00eda poses for a portrait in Little Village on March 9, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Chuy\u2019s Successor?<\/p>\n

Only one name appears on Tuesday\u2019s Democratic primary ballot for the 4th Congressional District: Patty Garc\u00eda. That guaranteed her a win \u2014 and, with it, the Democratic nomination for November\u2019s general election.<\/p>\n

Yet Garc\u00eda could actually face a slew of challengers.<\/p>\n

Two independent Latino candidates running on Democratic platforms have emerged as strong challengers \u2014 Pilsen Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez and political organizer Mayra Mac\u00edas \u2014\u00a0as long as they can make the ballot.<\/p>\n

Another two independent candidates from the suburbs have joined the race: Lindsay Church, a nonbinary veteran, nonprofit leader and LGBTQ+ parent from Berwyn, announced her run in January; and Chris Getty, the Lyons mayor and township director who has raised substantial funds for his political runs in the suburbs, announced his campaign last month.<\/p>\n

Read more.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Other Results<\/p>\n

Cook County Assessor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Illinois Secretary of State<\/strong><\/p>\n

Comptroller<\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO \u2014 Primary Election Day saw few surprises for the Chicago area \u2014 but plenty of interesting results.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":664210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[75910,51,50,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-664209","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-election-2026","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116249749718184431","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=664209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/664210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=664209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=664209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=664209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}