The 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

, concurrently with the 2018 Illinois general election and other

midterm elections Apart from general elections and by-elections, midterm election refers to a type of election where the people can elect their representatives and other subnational officeholders (e.g. governor, members of local council) in the middle of the term ...

. Incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Governor

Bruce Rauner Bruce Vincent Rauner (; born February 18, 1956) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. Prior to his election, he was the chairman of R8 Capital Partners and chai ...

ran for re-election to a second term in office, but was defeated by Democratic nominee

J. B. Pritzker Jay Robert "J. B." Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and politician serving as the 43rd governor of Illinois since 2019. A member of the wealthy Pritzker family, which owns the worldwide ...

. This was the second consecutive Illinois gubernatorial election in which the incumbent unsuccessfully sought re-election, and was also the first time that two consecutive governors have been elected without prior public office experience. Rauner was one of two incumbent Republican governors to be defeated for re-election in 2018, the other being Scott Walker in neighboring

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, who had lost narrowly to

Tony Evers Anthony Steven Evers (born November 5, 1951) is an American educator and politician serving as the 46th governor of Wisconsin since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Wisconsin's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2009 ...

. In addition, Rauner had the worst defeat for an incumbent governor in any state since

Ernie Fletcher Ernest Lee Fletcher (born November 12, 1952) is an American physician and politician. In 1998, he was elected to the first of three consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives; he resigned in 2003 after being elected the 60th ...

's defeat in Kentucky's 2007 election. Rauner's 38.8% of the vote was the worst performance for an incumbent Illinois Governor since 1912; he also received the lowest raw percentage of the vote for a Republican nominee since 1912. Ultimately, Rauner remained on the ballot, and lost in the most lopsided gubernatorial election since

Jim Edgar James Edgar (born July 22, 1946) is an American politician who was the 38th governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. Previously he served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1976 to 1979 and as Illinois Secretary of State ...

was reelected in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. With Pritzker winning by a margin of 15.7%, this was the biggest gubernatorial margin of victory for a Democrat since 1932. This was the first gubernatorial election in the state since 2002 where the Democrat won a majority of the vote.

Election information

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for federal congressional races and those for other state offices. The election was part of the 2018 Illinois elections.

Primary elections Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

were held on March 20.

Turnout

For the primary election, turnout was 25.76%, with 2,046,710 votes cast. For the general election, turnout was 56.15%, with 4,547,657 votes cast.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominated

, venture capitalist :* Running mate:

Juliana Stratton Juliana Stratton (née Wiggins; born September 8, 1965) is an American lawyer and politician, serving as the 48th lieutenant governor of Illinois since 2019. She previously served as a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representative ...

, State Representative

Eliminated in primary

* Daniel Biss, state senator :* Running mate:

Litesa Wallace Litesa E. Wallace (born 1978) is an American politician who served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 67th district from August 2014 to January 2019. Early life and education Wallace was born in Chicago. She earned a B ...

, state representative :*Former running mate:

Carlos Ramirez-Rosa Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (born February 18, 1989) is an American politician. He has served as the alderman for Chicago's 35th Ward since May 18, 2015. He is a member of the Chicago City Council's Progressive Reform Caucus, and was elected to serve ...

, Chicago Alderman * Bob Daiber, Madison County Regional Superintendent of Schools :* Running mate: Jonathan W. Todd, social worker * Tio Hardiman, former director of

CeaseFire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

and candidate for governor in 2014 :* Running mate: Patricia Avery, president and CEO of the Champaign County chapter of the NAACP. * Chris Kennedy, former chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees and member of the

Kennedy family The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy beca ...

:*Running mate: Ra Joy, nonprofit executive * Robert Marshall, physician and

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...

:* Running mate: Dennis Cole

Removed from ballot

* Terry Getz,

corrections officer A prison officer or corrections officer is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation of prisoners. They are responsible for the care, custody, and control of individuals who have been ...

(filed on November 29, 2017, but did so without a running mate or submitting any signatures)

Withdrew

Scott Drury Scott Drury (born 1972) is a former Illinois state representative for the 58th district and a Democratic candidate for Attorney General. The 58th district includes all or parts of Bannockburn, Deerfield, Glencoe, Highwood, Highland Park, L ...

, state representative (running for Attorney General) :* Running mate: Alex Hirsch, political operative * Alex Paterakis, civil engineer and business owner *

Ameya Pawar Ameya Pawar (born April 22, 1980) is an American politician who served as the alderman for the 47th Ward of the City of Chicago. He was first elected in the 2011 municipal elections, and was elected to a second term on February 24, 2015. Pawar's ...

, Chicago Alderman :* Running mate: Tyrone Coleman, mayor of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Declined

Cheri Bustos Cheryl Lea Bustos ( ; née Callahan; born October 17, 1961) is an American journalist, healthcare executive, and politician who is the U.S. representative from Illinois's 17th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party ...

, U.S. representative * Arne Duncan, former

United States Secretary of Education The United States secretary of education is the head of the U.S. Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on policies, programs, and activities re ...

Dick Durbin Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has served as the Senate De ...

, U.S. senator *

Mike Frerichs Michael W. Frerichs (; born July 28, 1973) is an American politician serving his third term as the State Treasurer of Illinois, after first taking office on January 12, 2015. Before being elected treasurer, he was a Democratic member of the I ...

Illinois Treasurer The Treasurer of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. The office was created by the Constitution of Illinois. Current Occupant The current Treasurer of Illinois is Democrat Mike Frerichs. He was first elected to head ...

Valerie Jarrett Valerie June Jarrett ( Bowman; born November 14, 1956) is an American businesswoman and former government official. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Obama Foundation. She previously served as the Senior Advisor to the Pre ...

, former

Senior Advisor to the President Senior Advisor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States. White House senior advisors are senior members of the White House Office. The title has been formally used since 1993. Res ...

Robin Kelly Robin Lynne Kelly (born April 30, 1956) is an American politician from Illinois who has served as the U.S. representative from since 2013. A Democrat, Kelly served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007. She then served as ...

, U.S. representative *

Lisa Madigan Lisa Murray Madigan (born July 30, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as Attorney General of the U.S. state of Illinois from 2003 to 2019, being the first woman to hold that position. She is ...

Illinois Attorney General The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by statewide election. Based in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, the attorne ...

Andy Manar Andy Manar (born November 15, 1975) is a former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate. He represented the 48th district, including part or all of Christian, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Montgomery, and Sangamon counties. Andy Manar is kn ...

, state senator *

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, former

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

and U.S. senator * Michelle Obama, former

First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...

Penny Pritzker Penny Sue Pritzker (born May 2, 1959) is an American billionaire businesswoman and civic leader who served as the 38th United States secretary of commerce in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017. She was confirmed by a Senate vote of 97� ...

, former

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

* Pat Quinn, former governor of Illinois ( Ran for Attorney General) * Heather Steans, state senator *

Kurt Summers Kurt Summers Jr. is the former City Treasurer of Chicago, Treasurer of the Chicago, City of Chicago, Illinois. Summers was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel on October 22, 2014, and took the oath of office on December 1, 2014. Summers was elected t ...

, Chicago city treasurer

Endorsements

Forums

The Illinois LGBTQ Forum: The Democratic Candidates for Governor was held on December 6, 2017, and organized by Affinity Community Services, the Association of Latinos/as Motivating Action (ALMA), the Equality Illinois Institute, and Pride Action Tank. Candidates who attended included Daniel Biss, Tio Hardiman, Ameya Pawar, J. B. Pritzker, and Chris Kennedy. Whitney Young High School hosted the first student-run gubernatorial debate in the United States on October 4, 2017. All 7 then current candidates attended, meaning Daniel Biss, Bob Daiber, Tio Hardiman, Chris Kennedy, Alex Paterakis, Ameya Pawar, and J. B. Pritzker. The Illinois chapter of progressive advocacy organization

Our Revolution Our Revolution (sometimes known by its initials OR) is an American progressive political action organization spun out of Senator Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign to continue its work. The organization's mission is to educate vote ...

sponsored a forum at the Chicago Teacher's Union headquarters on October 8, 2017. Candidates voiced similar opinions on single-payer health care, gun control, and the

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

, but differed on a hypothetical state deal with

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

and relationships with powerful Illinois Speaker

Mike Madigan Michael Joseph Madigan (born April 19, 1942) is an American politician who is the former speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. He was the longest-serving leader of any state or federal legislative body in the history of the United St ...

. The Democratic candidates held their first televised debate on January 23. All six candidates met again a week later on January 30. The debate was not televised but was uploaded to

WSIL-TV WSIL-TV (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Harrisburg, Illinois, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri, the Purchase area of Western Kentucky, and Northwest Tennessee. Owned by All ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel. Another debate was held on February 21, which was hosted by the

University of Illinois Springfield The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) is a public university in Springfield, Illinois. The university was established in 1969 as Sangamon State University by the Illinois General Assembly and became a part of the University of Illinois ...

. Chris Kennedy did not attend due to a back injury, although all five other candidates participated. Another major debate took place on March 1. It involved issues such as gun control, Blagojevich's tapes, sexual harassment, and relatability. Another debate took place the next day in Springfield. The topics involved Madigan, sexual harassment, among other issues. The spotlight remained on the top contenders: Chris Kennedy, J.B Pritzker, and Daniel Biss. Pritzker was criticized for refusing to commit to attend the only live-television debate planned outside the Chicago media market, prompting the debate's cancellation. Biss and Kennedy gathered petition signatures to encourage the debate's continuation, and Biss commented that "JB is borrowing a page from the billionaire playbook, avoiding debates and shunning reporters who ask tough questions." Another debate took place on March 14, revolving around topics including Pritzker's newly reported offshore holdings, Illinois House Speaker

, and education. Kennedy and Biss both attacked Pritzker on the offshore businesses, Kennedy "saying it's like a job interview, and Pritzker lying to get the job", and Biss saying "Pritzker did that to avoid taxes".

Polling

Results

Illinois gubernatorial Democratic primary, 2018

Pritzker won 98 of Illinois' counties. Kennedy and Biss both won two counties each.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominated

, incumbent governor ** Running mate:

Evelyn Sanguinetti Evelyn Sanguinetti (née Pacino; born November 12, 1970) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 47th lieutenant governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. She previously served on the Wheaton City Council. Sanguinetti announced her ...

, incumbent lieutenant governor

Eliminated in primary

Jeanne Ives Jeanne M. Ives (née Remmes, born October 4, 1964) is an American politician. A Republican, she is a former member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 42nd district. She has run for governor of Illinois, and for U.S. Representative ...

, State RepresentativeHinz, Greg.
Did Rauner just uncork a challenge from the right?
, ''

Crain's Chicago Business ''Crain's Chicago Business'' is a weekly business newspaper in Chicago, IL. It is owned by Detroit-based Crain Communications, a privately held publishing company with more than 30 magazines, including ''Advertising Age'', ''Modern Healthcare'' ...

'', September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017. ** Running mate:

Richard Morthland Richard Morthland (born November 10, 1959) is an American politician who is a member of the Rock Island County Board and was a Republican member of the Illinois General Assembly for a single term from 2011 to 2013. Morthland served on the Rock Is ...

Rock Island County Rock Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois, bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 147,546. Its county seat is Rock Island; its largest city is neighboring ...

board member and former state representative

Withdrew

* William J. Kelly, radio host and

(running as an independent) ** Running mate: Brian Leggero, candidate for Mayor of Rockford in 2017 ** Former running mate: Ray Tranchant, immigration activist

Endorsements

Campaign

A November 2017 Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll found that 83% of Republican voters have never heard of Ives. Ives' campaign's fourth-quarter fundraising totals were around $500,000. On February 28, 2018, Ives' campaign released a new book entitled ''The Governor You Don't Know: The Other Side of Bruce Rauner,'' authored by Chicago GOP chairman and Ives campaign chairman Chris Cleveland with a foreword by conservative State Representative Tom Morrison. Rauner and

Ives Ives is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: * Alice Emma Ives (1876–1930), American dramatist, journalist * Burl Ives (1909–1995), American singer, author and actor * Charles Ives (1874–1954), Amer ...

held their first and only scheduled forum on January 29, before the ''Chicago Tribune'' editorial board." Rauner largely ignored his opponent and focused on attacking Speaker

, comparing him to his likely Democratic challenger,

. Ives, on the other hand, attacked Rauner for being an ineffective governor and alienating social conservatives. Shortly after the debate, conservative Lake Forest businessman

Richard Uihlein Richard Ellis Uihlein ( ; born 1945) and Elizabeth Uihlein are American billionaire businesspeople, founders of Uline and conservative donors. Richard is also an heir to the Schlitz brewing fortune. Rauner and Ives were invited by the

to debate a second time; Rauner declined the invitation. Ives released an ad titled " Thank You, Bruce Rauner" on February 3, 2018, in an attempt to challenge her opponent's commitment to conservative values. Her ad featured actors outfitted to portray a transgender woman, an anti-fascist protester wearing a hood and a bandana over his face, a member of the Chicago Teachers Union and a

Women's March Women's March may refer to: * Women's March on Versailles, a 1789 march in Paris * Women's Sunday, a 1908 suffragette march in London * Woman Suffrage Procession, a 1913 march and rally in Washington, D.C. * Women's March (South Africa), a 1956 ma ...

activist. After Ives' ad made its rounds on the internet, advocacy groups, some Republicans and Democrats lashed out against Ives, calling her video bigoted and offensive. The ad increased Ives's profile and name recognition. Three Chicago-area newspaper editorial boards came out against the ad: the ''Chicago Tribune'' said "The portrayals are demeaning;" the ''Daily Herald'' said that Ives should take down the ad, which "attacks people of Illinois, not opponent", and the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' wrote, "Jeanne Ives goes for the bully vote with her TV ad."

Polling

Results

Illinois gubernatorial Republican primary, 2018

Despite a 14% decrease in Republican primary votes cast, Rauner increased his overall vote total by 9% compared to the 2014 primary. In 2018, he managed to capture a narrow majority of the votes, with 51.4%, in his victory over conservative Ives. By comparison, in 2014 Rauner only received 40.2% of the primary vote in his narrow win victory over Kirk Dillard, Bill Brady, and Dan Rutherford. In 2018, Rauner did well in central Illinois compared to the Republican primary four years earlier, when he managed 30% in the downstate region and finished 2nd to Kirk Dillard. In 2018, he carried the region with 52%. However, the result was still considered surprisingly close, and indicated widespread dissatisfaction with Rauner's governorship among more conservative Republicans.

Third parties and independents

In order to qualify as an established party in Illinois, a candidate for said party must earn at least 5% of the vote in a statewide election. This last occurred in 2006, when

Rich Whitney Rich Whitney (born April 21, 1955) is an American politician and civil rights attorney who was the Illinois Green Party's nominee for Governor of Illinois in the elections of 2006 and 2010. During the 2006 campaign Whitney received endorsements ...

won 10% of the vote, allowing the

Illinois Green Party The Illinois Green Party is a statewide political party in Illinois. The party is state affiliate of the Green Party of the United States. Its stated mission and purpose are to advance the ''Ten Key Values of the Green Party'' in Illinois through ...

to achieve such status. Established party status comes with benefits. For example, candidates of an established party needs only 5,000 voter signatures on its petitions to gain ballot access. For non-established parties this number is approximately 25,000. For the 2018 election, non-established parties do not need to run a full slate in order to qualify for ballot access.

Conservative

Sam McCann William "Sam" McCann Jr. (born November 4, 1969) is an American politician who was a member of the Illinois Senate from 2011 to 2019. He was first elected in 2010 as a Republican in the 49th district, defeating incumbent Democrat Deanna Demuzio, ...

, a longtime intraparty opponent of Bruce Rauner, resigned from the Republican Caucus to run for governor as a member of the newly created Conservative Party.

Candidates

, state senator ** Running mate: Aaron Merreighn, activist and

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

veteran

Libertarian

Kash Jackson was the Libertarian nominee. Libertarian nominees for governor, other statewide offices, and the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...

were chosen by the

Libertarian Party of Illinois The Libertarian Party of Illinois is the Illinois affiliate of the Libertarian Party. The current state chair is Chase Renwick. There are five Libertarian officeholders in Illinois. Mission statement Libertarian Party of Illinois mission is: To ...

at a state convention on March 3, 2018, in Bloomington, Illinois. Jackson appeared on the ballot.

Candidates

* Kash Jackson, navy veteran and activist **Running mate: Sanj Mohip

Endorsements

Unsuccessful

* Matthew C. Scaro, entrepreneur and Libertarian activist * Jon Stewart, retired professional wrestler, Republican candidate for the state house in 1998 and Republican candidate for IL-05 in 2009

Independents

Removed from ballot

* Mary Vann-Metcalf * Gregg Moore **Magistrale Morgan * Dock Walls, perennial candidate **

Jim Tobin James Anthony Tobin (December 27, 1912 – May 19, 1969), known as "Abba Dabba", was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Bees/ Braves and Detroit Tigers from 1937 to 1945. With the Boston Brav ...

, founder of Taxpayers United of America

Withdrew

* William J. Kelly, radio host and

(subsequently ran on Constitution Party ticket, then withdrew) ** Running mate: Brian Leggero, candidate for Mayor of Rockford in 2017

Constitution

Nominee

William J. Kelly was nominated for governor and Chad Koppie, a member of the Kane County Regional Board of School Trustees, were chosen to run as the gubernatorial ticket of the Illinois Constitution Party. However, on June 5, 2018, Kelly dropped out and endorsed the third party campaign of Sam McCann.

=Withdrew

= * William J. Kelly, radio host and

(endorsed Sam McCann) * Randy Stufflebeam, chairman of the Illinois Constitution Party (endorsed William J. Kelly)

Green Party

The Green Party ran a slate of statewide candidates in 2006 and 2010, but failed to be placed on the ballot in 2014Rauner Dealt Double Blows Over Illinois Ballot
''Miami Herald'', August 22, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014 and declined to run any statewide candidates in 2018.

General election

had been rated as one of, if not the most, vulnerable governor running for re-election in 2018 by ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

'' and the '' National Journal''. Following his surprisingly narrow primary win, Rauner offered former state senator

Karen McConnaughay Karen McConnaughay (born March 1, 1957) is an Illinois politician from Kane County. A Republican, she was a member of the Illinois Senate from the 33rd district from 2013 until her resignation in 2018. The 33rd district includes all or parts of ...

, attorney general nominee

Erika Harold Erika Natalie Louise Harold (born February 20, 1980) is an American attorney, politician, and former Miss America. Harold was Miss Illinois 2002 and Miss America 2003. Her pageant platform was combating bullying. In 2014, she was a candidate ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

co-owner and

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

Finance Chair

Todd Ricketts Todd M. Ricketts (born September 23, 1969) is an American businessman and politician who is a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, a member of the TD Ameritrade board of directors, and the current Republican National Committee Finance Chairman. Early ...

and

Illinois Republican Party The Illinois Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Illinois founded in May 29, 1856. It is run by the Illinois Republican State Central Committee, which consists of 18 members, one representing each of ...

Committeeman Richard Porter the chance to replace him on the ticket, with the promise that he would continue to fully fund the campaign using his personal wealth. Rauner consistently trailed Pritzker in the polls by large margins, and the race was rated as a likely Democratic win by all major election prognosticators.

Endorsements

Debates

Predictions

Fundraising

Polling

;with Jeanne Ives and J. B. Pritzker ;with Bruce Rauner and Chris Kennedy ;with Bruce Rauner and Daniel Biss ;with Bruce Rauner and generic Democrat ;with Jeanne Ives and Chris Kennedy ;with Bruce Rauner and Dick Durbin

Results

Pritzker only won 16 out of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

's 102 counties. However, those counties account for more than half of the state's total population. In the end, the election was not close with the Pritzker/Stratton ticket defeating the Rauner/Sanguinetti ticket by almost 16 percentage points. Pritzker won the traditionally Democratic

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

which includes the

Chicago Metropolitan Area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...

. Pritzker won in all but one of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's collar counties, which used to be more of a tossup in years prior. Pritzker also did well in other cities such as

East Saint Louis East St. Louis is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois. It is directly across the Mississippi River from Downtown St. Louis, Missouri and the Gateway Arch National Park. East St. Louis is in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. Once a b ...

and

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

, and narrowly won in Peoria. Rauner did well in most rural areas of the state, but it was not enough to put a dent into Pritzker's lead. Pritzker and Stratton were sworn in on January 14, 2019.

Notes

References

External links

Candidates
at

Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

Candidates
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

;Official campaign websites
Kash Jackson (L) for GovernorSam McCann (Conservative) for GovernorJ. B. Pritzker (D) for GovernorBruce Rauner (R) for Governor
{{Illinois elections 2018

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Election information

Turnout

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominated

Eliminated in primary

Removed from ballot

Withdrew

Declined

Endorsements

Forums

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominated

Eliminated in primary

Withdrew

Endorsements

Campaign

Polling

Results

Third parties and independents

Conservative

Candidates

Libertarian

Candidates

Endorsements

Unsuccessful

Independents

Removed from ballot

Withdrew

Constitution

Nominee

=Withdrew

Green Party

General election

Endorsements

Debates

Predictions

Fundraising

Polling

Results

See also

Notes

References

External links