Voters in about half of Illinois House districts only have one major party candidate running in primary

[March 22, 2022]  By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Even with a new legislative map in place for the upcoming elections, about half of the state’s voters may not have a choice between the major parties in the November election.

All 177 state legislative seats are up for grabs this November, including 118 House seats and 59 Senate seats. The party primary for Democrats and Republicans is June 28.

An analysis by The Center Square shows for the 59 state Senate districts up for grabs, Democrats are the only filers for the primary in 22 districts while Republicans in 17 districts won’t face a Democratic challenger in November. That makes only 20 of 59, or around 34%, of Senate seats competitive for the two established parties come November.

Illinois House Republicans in the super minority are looking to gain seats in the upcoming November elections, and an analysis of candidates filed for the June primary shows that attempt.

Earlier this month, House Speaker Emauel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, said Democrats are excited to work at keeping their majority.

“We had a great response from voters at the doors, they’re responding to our message very well,” Welch said. “Inflation, economy and jobs, and certainly crime, those are things that we want to address and that’s top of voters’ minds.”

But state Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, said even with partisan drawn maps, the GOP has recruited candidates to challenge Democrats across the state.
 

“We’re doing a really great job of recruiting candidates in Cook County, recruiting candidates in the city of Chicago like we’ve never done before, giving people options on real legitimate candidates, not fake Mike Madigan Republican candidates in the city of Chicago,” Butler told WMAY earlier this month.

Madigan is the former Illinois House Speaker and former chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois. He was indicted on 22 federal corruption counts earlier this month.

The numbers confirm Butler’s suggestion that Republicans are giving more choices to voters across the state. An analysis of petitions filed to the Illinois State Board of Elections for the 118 Illinois House seats by the two major parties shows 30 House districts only have Republicans competing in the primary while 28 House districts have only Democrats running.

“This year you’re going to see more candidates, but I wouldn't be surprised in [2024] if you see a dramatic drop in the number of candidates on the ballot because a lot of these districts aren't going to be competitive,” Butler said.

Butler has a primary challenger, but there is no Democrat that’s filed for his district.

In several House and Senate districts where only one established party has filed, there are multiple candidates vying for either the Republican or Democratic nomination in the primary set for June 28. But, in the aggregate, around 50% of Illinois House seats will be uncompetitive come November.

An unknown for the November election is whether the districts will have non-established party or independent candidates. They don’t begin filing to get on the November ballot until July 5.

Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning Newsfeed out of Springfield.