This St. Patrick’s Day, Kane County voters can head to the polls in addition to sampling a green beer.

March 17 marks the 2026 primary, where voters can pull a Democratic or Republican ballot to pick who appears on the ballot come November. All voters, partisan or not, can weigh in on referendum questions.

The deadline for candidates to file was Nov. 3.

Who has filed?

Illinois governor and lieutenant governor: Incumbent JB Pritzker, a Democrat, has filed to run for reelection. He has named Christian Mitchell as his running mate after Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton announced her intention to run for the U.S. Senate.

Conservative research group Wirepoints president Ted Dabrowski, DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, former state Sen. Darren Bailey and Gold Rush Gaming owner Rick Heidner of Barrington Hills have filed as Republicans.

The only other Democrat to file, Patricia L. Tillman of Chicago, was removed from the ballot following a successful objection as was Republicans Gregg Moore of Broadview and Joseph Severino of Lake Forest. Republican Max Solomon of Hazel Crest withdrew his candidacy.

Illinois attorney general: Incumbent Kwame Raoul, a Democrat, has filed to run for another term. Former Chicago alderman Bob Fioretti has filed to run as a Republican.

Republican Andy Williams Jr. of Darien was removed from the ballot following a successful objection and JoAnne Guillemette of Chicago withdrew after an objection was filed.

Illinois secretary of state: Alexi Giannoulias, an incumbent Democrat, has filed to run for reelection. Walter Adamczyk of Chicago and Joliet Junior College Trustee Diane M. Harris filed to run as Republicans.

Illinois comptroller: Incumbent Susana Mendoza, a Democrat, is not running again. State Sen. Karina Villa of West Chicago, Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim of Mundelein, state Rep. Margaret Croke of Chicago and state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego have filed to run as Democrats and and Bryan Drew of Benton as a Republican.

Champaign County Auditor George Danos, a Democrat, was removed from the ballot following a successful objection.

Illinois treasurer: Incumbent Michael Frerichs, a Democrat, has filed to run for a fourth term.

U.S. Senate: Incumbent Dick Durbin, a Democrat, is not seeking reelection.

Casey Chlebek, former Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy, R. Cary Capparelli of Chicago, Pamela Denise Long of Edwardsville, Jimmy Lee Tillman II of Chicago andJohn Goodman of Des Plaines Jeannie Evans of Chicago have filed to run as Republicans.

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton of Chicago, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg, Kevin Ryan of Chicago, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Lynwood, Steve Botsford Jr. of Chicago, Jonathan Dean of Chicago, Sean Brown of Orland Park, Bryan Maxwell of Urbana, Awisi A. Bustos of Springfield and Christopher A. Swann of Chicago as Democrats. Independents Tyrone Muhammad and Austin J. Mink have also said they are running.

Democrats Adam Delgado of Chicago, Anthony Williams of Dolton and Jump Shepherd of North Riverside were removed from the ballot following successful objections as was CaSándra Claiborne of Chicago. Democrat Robert Palmer of Chicago and Republican John Goodman of Des Plaines withdrew as candidates.

U.S. House of Representatives: All 17 members of Congress representing Illinois are up in 2026. To find what district you live in, go to congress.gov/members/find-your-member.

• District 8: Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat representing parts of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties, is not seeking reelection and instead running for the U.S. Senate. Neil Khot of Hoffman Estates, Kevin B. Morrison of Mount Prospect, Junaid Ahmed of South Barrington, Ryan Vetticad of South Barrington, Melissa L. Bean of Barrington, Yasmeen Bankole of Hanover Park, Dan Tully of Carol Stream and Sanjyot Dunnug of Des Plaines have filed as Democrats. Mark Rice of Arlington Heights, Jennifer Davis of Huntley, Kevin Ake of Elk Grove Village and Herbert Hebein of Chicago have filed as Republicans.
• District 11: Bill Foster, a Democrat representing parts of Boone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will, has filed to run for reelection. Elburn Village President Jeff Walter, Michael Pierce of Naperville and Charlie Kim of Aurora have filed as Republicans. Tedora Brown of Palos Park was removed from the ballot following a successful objection.
• District 14: Lauren Underwood, a Democrat representing parts of Bureau, DeKalb, Kane, Kendall, La Salle, Putnam and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection. Gary Vician of Naperville and James T. “Jim” Marter of Oswego have filed to run as Republicans.

Illinois State Senate: Like its federal counterpart, only some of its members are up for reelection this year. In Kane County, that includes:

• District 26: Darby A. Hills, a Republican representing Cook, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties, has filed to run for reelection. Hills was appointed in February 2025 to fill out the remainder of Dan McConchie’s term. Nabeela Syed of Inverness has filed as a Democrat.
• District 33: Don DeWitte, a Republican representing Kane, DuPage and McHenry counties, is not running for reelection. Michele Clark of Algonquin filed to run as a Democrat and Danielle Penman of St. Charles and Jessica Breugelmans of Geneva as Republicans. Satnaam Singh Mago, a Democrat from Wayne, withdrew his candidacy, and Cody Holt, a Republican from Elgin, was removed from the ballot following a successful objection.
• District 35: Dave Syverson, a Republican representing Boone, DeKalb, Kane, McHenry and Winnebago counties, has filed to run for reelection. Sarah B. Mertens of Crystal Lake filed as a Democrat.
• District 42: Linda Holmes, a Democrat representing DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties, has filed to run for reelection. Edgardo “Eddie” Perez of Aurora filed as a Republican. Democrat Justin H.S. Breaux of Aurora was removed from the ballot following a successful objection.

Illinois House of Representatives: All state representative seats are up every two years. The races in Kane County include:

• District 43: Anna Moeller, a Democrat representing Cook and Kane counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 49: Maura Hirschauer, a Democrat representing Cook, Kane and DuPage counties, has filed to run for reelection. John Paul Augustynowicz of Warrenville has filed as a Republican.
• District 50: Barbara Hernandez, a Democrat representing Kane and DuPage counties, has filed to run for reelection.
• District 52: Martin McLaughlin, a Republican representing Cook, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties, has filed to run for reelection. Erin Chan Ding of South Barrington and Maria Peterson of North Barrington have filed to run as Democrats.
• District 65: Dan Ugaste, a Republican representing DuPage and Kane counties, has filed to run for reelection. Ricky Rivard of St. Charles has filed to run as a Democrat.
• District 66: Suzanne M. Ness, a Democrat representing Kane and McHenry counties, has filed to run for reelection. Laurie Parman of Sleepy Hollow filed as a Republican.
• District 70: Jeff Keicher, a Republican representing DeKalb, Kane and McHenry counties, has filed to run for reelection. Veronica Garcia-Martinez of Cortland has filed to run as a Democrat.
• District 83: Matt Hanson, a Democrat representing Kane and Kendall counties, has filed to run for reelection. Jesse Rodriguez of Aurora has filed to run as a Republican.
• District 84: Stephanie A. Kifowit, a Democrat representing DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties, is not running for reelection as she is running for comptroller. Saba Haider and Jared Ploger, both of Aurora, have filed to run as Democrats and Brian Scopa of Naperville has filed to run as a Republican.

What races are up at the county level?

Kane County Clerk: Incumbent John A. “Jack” Cunningham has filed to run again as a Republican and Brian Pollock of Aurora and Brenda Rodgers of Elgin filed as Democrats.

Sheriff: Incumbent Sheriff Ron Hain, a Democrat, is not seeking reelection. Former Kane County Coroner Rob Russell and Elburn Village Trustee Luis “Lou” Santoyo filed to run as Republicans and Salvador Rodriguez of Sugar Grove and Undersheriff Amy Johnson filed as Democrats. Sheriff’s sergeant Andrew Schwab, a Democrat from Batavia, withdrew his candidacy.

County Treasurer: Incumbent Chris Lauzen filed to run as a Republican and Penny Wegman of Elgin, Connie Cain of Gilberts and Scott Johansen of St. Charles filed as Democrats.

Regional Superintendent: John K. Jonak, a Batavia resident who was appointed this summer to serve the remainder of Patricia Dal Santo’s term, filed to run as a Republican.

County Board:

• District 1: Myrna Molina of Aurora filed as a Democrat.
• District 2: Ellen Nottke of Batavia, Martha Davidson of North Aurora and Matthew Dingeldein of North Aurora filed as Democrats for an unexpired two-year term. Kimberley M. Young of Batavia is no longer on the ballot.
• District 3: Anita Marie Lewis of Aurora filed as a Democrat. Fellow Democrat Danny B. Perez of Aurora is no longer on the ballot.
• District 5: Bill Lenert of Sugar Grove led as a Republican and Philip Silagi of Aurora as a Democrat.
• District 7: Alex Arroyo of Aurora filed as a Democrat.
• District 9: Jeffrey R. Magnussen and Jennifer Abbatacola, both of Hampshire, filed as Republicans and Marc A. Guttke of Hampshire as a Democrat.
• District 11: Julie Forbes of Geneva and Leslie N. Juby of Geneva filed as Democrats.
• District 13: Ryan Deniz of Geneva and Anthony Louis Catella of St. Charles filed as Republicans and Nicolas G. “Nico” Jimenez of Geneva and Michael Linder of St. Charles as Democrats.
• District 15: David Young of Elgin filed as a Republican and Kate Monteleone of St. Charles as a Democrat.
• District 17: Deborah Willis of Elgin and Deborah Allan of Elgin filed as Democrats.
• District 19: Steve Serafin of Elgin filed as a Republican and Mohammad “Mo” Iqbal of Elgin as a Democrat.
• District 21: Clifford Surges of Gilberts filed as a Republican and Deborah Chabi of Dundee as a Democrat.
• District 23: Emmanuel Thomas of Algonquin filed as a Republican and Christopher W. Kious of Algonquinas a Democrat.

What judicial races will I get to vote on?

Three vacancies are up at the Illinois appellate court level but none in the district that includes Kane County, according to an Illinois State Board of Elections list as of Sept. 3. Voters will also get to vote on retentions.

Important Dates

Oct. 27 to Nov. 3, 2025: Candidates in established parties can file the necessary documents either at the Springfield office for state-level candidates or at the County Clerk’s Office in the county where they’re running.

Among the paperwork required is a statement of candidacy and petitions signed by registered voters. The number of signatures required varies by office.

Nov. 10: Last day for objections challenging whether candidates can appear on the ballot to be filed.

Nov. 17 to 24: Filing period for candidates seeking to fill judicial vacancies.

Dec. 3: Deadline to file objections in judicial vacancy races.

Dec. 15: Deadline to file petitions for referendums to appear on the March ballot. This does not include referendum questions authorized by local governments, just ones submitted through voter-signed petitions.

Dec. 17: First day to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot.

Dec. 22: Deadline to file objections on referendum questions.

Dec. 29: Deadline for local government boards – like school boards and city councils – to adopt a resolution or ordinance for a binding referendum.

Jan. 8, 2026: Last day for a candidate to withdraw from the race.

Jan. 15: Last day for a candidate to file as a write-in.

Feb. 5: Early voting starts and county clerks begin mailing vote-by-mail ballots.

March 1: Last day to register to vote online through the State Board of Elections’ website. Grace period registration and voting continues through Election Day.

March 17: Election Day for the 2026 primary. Polls close at 7 p.m. Voters can request a partisan ballot with either Democratic or Republican candidates listed or a non-partisan ballot, which includes any referendums.