Voters in half of Illinois House districts have one party filed for primary

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. 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.