Illinois voters elect Pritzker for third term; Stratton wins Senate seat

Illinois residents will have a new U.S. Senator and a third-term governor starting in January. Governor JB Pritzker secured his re-election on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, marking the first time a Democrat has won three consecutive terms for the state's chief executive. Former Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton defeated former Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy to take over the U.S. Senate seat previously held by retiring Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin.

The results show a decisive victory for Democrats across the state. Pritzker received 2,335,631 votes, or 59.8 percent of the total Decision Desk data with 90.8 percent of the vote expected in. His Republican opponent, Darren Bailey, collected 1,438,609 votes, or 36.8 percent. A third candidate, Collin Corbett, received 3.3 percent of the vote.

In the race for the U.S. Senate, Stratton received 2,418,659 votes, representing 61 percent of the total with 92.5 percent of the vote counted. Tracy garnered 1,487,039 votes, or 37.5 percent. Whitfield Harrington Jr. Received the remaining 1.6 percent.

Democrats also won every one of Illinois' 17 U.S. House districts. This outcome means the state will send six freshman members to Congress, all of whom are Democrats. The influx of new lawmakers follows the departure of several long-serving officials. U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi vacated their House seats to run for the Senate. Reps. Danny Davis, Jan Schakowsky, and Jesús "Chuy" García announced their retirements from the House alongside Sen. Durbin.

The Democratic wave extended to other statewide offices. Michael Frerichs won the race for Illinois Treasurer with 61.93 percent of the vote. Margaret Croke won the Comptroller race with 60.8 percent of the vote. Kwame Raoul won the Attorney General race with 61.5 percent of the vote. Alexi Giannoulias won the Secretary of State race with 64.5 percent of the vote.

In the U.S. House races, incumbents and challengers secured victories across the map. Notable margins included La Shawn Ford in District 7, who received 89 percent of the vote, and Delia Ramirez in District 3, who received 75.7 percent of the vote. In District 16, incumbent Darin LaHood won with 58.6 percent of the vote. In District 17, Eric Sorensen won with 60 percent of the vote.

The victory for Pritzker and Stratton positions the state government to move forward with their legislative agendas. Pritzker, who has served as governor since 2019, will now serve another four-year term. Stratton, who served as lieutenant governor from 2017 to 2023, will assume her seat in the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C.