Results at a glance

Democrats won every constitutional office; all races called

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton (D) wins the open Durbin seat

Democratic gain; 40–19 before, 45–14 projected

Democratic gain; 78–40 before, 84–34 projected

Unchanged; five new Democratic members

Overview

Democrats made substantial gains in congressional and state legislative elections this year. Nationally, the Associated Press projected that Democrats would win majorities in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, shifting party control of Congress. In Illinois, the results reinforced rather than reshaped the state’s balance of power: Democrats swept all six statewide constitutional offices and the open U.S. Senate seat, kept their 14–3 majority in the congressional delegation and appear positioned to expand their existing supermajorities in both chambers of the General Assembly, although six House races and one Senate race remain uncalled.

Statewide. Gov. JB Pritzker was declared the winner shortly after the polls closed at 7 p.m. and leads Republican Darren Bailey 59.8% to 36.9% in a rematch of their 2022 race – a margin of about 23 points, up from about 13 points four years ago (54.9% to 42.4%). Pritzker’s 2,418,952 votes already exceed his 2022 total of 2,253,748, with about 95% of the estimated vote counted. He becomes the first Democrat elected to three terms as Illinois governor, and his running mate, former Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell, will succeed Juliana Stratton as lieutenant governor. State Rep. Margaret Croke won the open comptroller’s race with 60.8%, and Attorney General Kwame Raoul (61.3%), Treasurer Michael Frerichs (61.9%) and Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias (64.5%) won re-election. Giannoulias was the top vote-getter on the ballot, with more than 2.59 million votes.

Illinois Senate. Senate Democrats entered the election with a 40–19 majority. The AP has called five Republican-held seats for Democrats, with one more still uncalled. The AP called the 24th, 26th, 32nd and 56th Districts for Democrats over Republican Sens. Seth Lewis, Darby Hills, Craig Wilcox and Erica Harriss, and called the open 33rd District seat vacated by Republican Sen. Don DeWitte for Michele Clark. The one uncalled race is in the 35th District, where Sen. Dave Syverson leads Sarah Mertens by 1,452 votes with all precincts reporting; mail ballots arriving through November 17 could still change the margin. The AP called the 38th District for Sen. Sue Rezin over Ernie Marcelain (52.0%–48.0%). Democrats could end with 45 or 46 seats.

Illinois House. House Democrats entered the election with a 78–40 majority. The AP has called two Republican-held seats for Democrats, with a third conceded, and Democrats could gain as many as eight. The AP called the open 47th

District seat vacated by Republican Rep. Amy Grant for Erica Bray-Parker and the 52nd District for Maria Peterson over Rep. Martin McLaughlin, and Rep. Brandun Schweizer conceded the 104th District to Mary Catherine Roberson (the AP count there has not been updated since Wednesday). Democrats lead in three more Republican-held seats that have not been called: Amanda Zahorak leads Rep. Jennifer Sanalitro by about 3,600 votes in the 48th, Ricky Rivard leads Rep. Dan Ugaste by about 2,800 votes in the 65th and George McClellan Jr. leads Rep. Kevin Schmidt by 558 votes in the 114th. Republicans lead in two other uncalled races, with Rep. Jeff Keicher ahead by 767 votes in the 70th and Rep. Scott Doody ahead by 1,573 votes in the 118th. The AP called the 64th District for Republican Rep. Tom Weber. No Democratic-held seat in either chamber is on track to change hands.

Congress. Illinois’ congressional delegation will remain at 14 Democrats and 3 Republicans, but it will include five new members, many of them familiar names in Illinois politics. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton will be Illinois’ next U.S. senator, succeeding retiring Sen. Dick Durbin after winning 61.1% of the vote and more than 2.46 million votes. New U.S. House members include Donna Miller (73.0%) in the 2nd District, Patty Garcia (70.9%) in the 4th, La Shawn Ford (89.1%) in the 7th, Melissa Bean (63.8%) in the 8th and Daniel Biss (75.9%) in the 9th. All 17 U.S. House races have been called, and every incumbent seeking re-election won.

Turnout. Final turnout figures are still pending, but more than 1.83 million Illinoisans voted before Election Day, either in person or by mail. That is roughly 33% more than the 1.38 million pre-Election Day ballots cast in the 2022 midterm, but about 23% fewer than the 2.38 million cast before Election Day in the 2024 presidential election.

Balance of Power in the General Assembly

Statewide Offices and U.S. Senate

All six races were called by the Associated Press on election night. Estimated share of the vote counted: about 95%. (i) = incumbent.

Illinois General Assembly

All 118 House seats and 39 of 59 Senate seats were on the ballot. Vote counts are unofficial and come from the Associated Press feed carried by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Seats changing hands: Republican to Democratic

Races not yet called

All of these seats are held by Republicans. Mail ballots arriving through November 17 and the official canvass will decide them, and a race this close can still change leaders. HD 104 (Roberson 51.3%–48.7%) is listed above because Rep. Schweizer conceded; its AP count has not updated since Wednesday.

SD 35 D Sarah Mertens R Dave Syverson (i) 42,238 – 43,690 R +1,452 AP count, all 153 precincts reporting (97% est. counted); 1,452-vote margin

Other targeted races: incumbents re-elected

Republican Reps. Tom Weber (64th District, 52.0%), Joe Sosnowski (69th, 52.5%), Dan Swanson (71st, 56.2%), Jed Davis (75th, 54.2%) and Amy Elik (111th, 55.2%) held their seats. Democratic Reps. Amy “Murri” Briel (76th, 57.3%) and Jessica Dixon Heitman (97th, 61.1%) and Sen. Doris Turner (48th, 58.9%) won seats Republicans had targeted.

New members of the 105th General Assembly

Including the seats that changed parties, the House could have as many as 15 new members and the Senate as many as nine. Members elected to open seats (in addition to the winners listed above):

• House: Shantel Franklin (D-Chicago), 8th District, succeeding La Shawn Ford, elected to Congress; Paul Kendrick (D- Chicago), 12th, succeeding Margaret Croke, elected comptroller; Demerike “Demi” Palecek (D-Chicago), 13th, succeeding Hoan Huynh; Cleopatra Cowley (D-Chicago), 34th, succeeding Nicholas Smith; Miguel Alvelo-Rivera (D- Chicago), 40th, succeeding Jaime Andrade; Jenny Levin (D-Palatine), 51st, succeeding Nabeela Syed, elected to the Senate; Saba Haider (D-Aurora), 84th, succeeding Stephanie Kifowit; Joshua Higgins (R-Biggsville), 94th, succeeding Norine Hammond; and Tim Ruestman (R-Kappa), 105th, succeeding Dennis Tipsword Jr.

• Senate: Patrick Hanley (D-Winnetka), 9th District, succeeding Laura Fine; Frances Hurley (D-Chicago), 18th, succeeding Bill Cunningham; Carina Santa Maria (D-Arlington Heights), 27th, succeeding Mark Walker; and Jared Ploger (D-Aurora), 42nd, succeeding Linda Holmes, who withdrew from the general election after winning the primary.

Chicago and Cook County

Chicago School Board race calls are by the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ; other results are from the Associated Press. About 99% of Chicago precincts (1,279 of 1,291) were reporting.

Chicago voters elected the city’s first board president and completed the transition to a fully elected, 21-member Board of Education. Jessica Biggs, a former Chicago Public Schools principal and current board member, won the presidency with 48.5% (287,307 votes), defeating Hilario Dominguez (30.9%), the candidate backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, Victor Henderson (18.0%) and Sendhil Revuluri (2.7%). Union-backed candidates are leading or have won in about half of the 20 district races, according to recent reporting, and four district races (3B, 5B, 6A and 7A) remain too close to be called. In Cook County, Board President Toni Preckwinkle won re-election with 79.5% of the vote, Pat Hynes leads for assessor with 86.0% and Sheriff Tom Dart for re-election with 86.1%.

Chicago Board of Education districts

These are advisory referendum questions. The results express voter preferences but do not, by themselves, enact taxes, establish programs or change existing law.

# Question (summarized) Yes No

Selected collar county races

Key Dates Ahead

Appendix: Every Contested Legislative Race

Races with both a Democrat and a Republican on the ballot. Unofficial results as of 4:50 p.m. CT, Friday, November 6, 2026. The leader is in bold; ✔ = called by the AP. (i) = incumbent.

Illinois Senate (22 contested races)

SD 59 D Tamiko Mueller R Paul Jacobs (i) R 34.5% – 65.5% ✔