Illinois House of Representatives elections, 2016

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2016 Illinois
House Elections
Flag of Illinois.png
PrimaryMarch 15, 2016
GeneralNovember 8, 2016
2016 Election Results
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All 118 seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 2016. Republicans gained four seats in the November 2016 general election.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Just one major party candidate ran in 72 districts, meaning those races were effectively decided.
  • Only a handful of the remaining 42 districts were competitive and, thus, particularly subject to a change in party control.[1]
  • Introduction

    Elections for the Illinois House of Representatives were held in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was November 30, 2015.[2]

    Majority control

    See also: Partisan composition of state houses

    Heading into the election, the Democratic Party held the majority in the Illinois House of Representatives:

    Illinois House of Representatives
    Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
         Democratic Party 71 67
         Republican Party 47 51
    Total 118 118

    Retired incumbents

    Ten incumbent representatives did not run for re-election in 2016. Those incumbents were:

    Name Party Current Office
    Edward J. Acevedo Electiondot.png Democratic House District 2
    Pamela Reaves-Harris Electiondot.png Democratic House District 10
    Ed Sullivan, Jr. Ends.png Republican House District 51
    Jack D. Franks Electiondot.png Democratic House District 63
    Michael W. Tryon Ends.png Republican House District 66
    Patrick J. Verschoore Electiondot.png Democratic House District 72
    David R. Leitch Ends.png Republican House District 73
    Donald L. Moffitt Ends.png Republican House District 74
    Adam M. Brown Ends.png Republican House District 102
    Eddie Lee Jackson Electiondot.png Democratic House District 114

    Note: John D. Anthony (R) resigned from the state House on June 17, 2016. David Welter was appointed to the seat.

    Note: Ron Sandack (R) resigned from the state House on July 24, 2016. David Olsen was appointed to the seat.

    2016 election competitiveness

    Illinois saw a dip in electoral competitiveness.

    Ballotpedia conducts a yearly study of electoral competitiveness in state legislative elections. Details on how well Illinois performed in the study are provided in the image below. Click here for the full 2016 Competitiveness Analysis »

    CA 2016 Illinois.png
    • In the Illinois State Senate, there were 39 Democratic incumbents and 20 Republican incumbents. Two incumbents faced primary challengers in the Democratic Party. There were two primary challenges in the Republican primary.
    • In the House, there were 71 Democratic incumbents and 47 Republican incumbents. Nine state representatives faced primary opposition in the Democratic Party. There were four primary challenges in the Republican primary.
    • Overall, 18.6 percent of Democratic incumbents and 21.4 percent of GOP incumbents faced primary opposition in all of the state legislatures with elections in 2016.
    • The cumulative figure for how many state legislative candidates faced no major party opposition in November in these states was 41.8 percent. This compares to 32.7 percent in 2010, 38.3 percent in 2012, and 43.0 percent in 2014.


    • More details on electoral competitiveness in Illinois can be found below.

    List of candidates

    General election

    2016 Illinois House candidates
    District Democratic Party Democrat Republican Party Republican Other
    1 Daniel J. Burke (I) Approveda No candidate
    2 Theresa Mah Approveda No candidate
    3 Luis Arroyo (I) Approveda No candidate
    4 Cynthia Soto (I) Approveda No candidate
    5 Juliana Stratton Approveda No candidate
    6 Sonya Harper (I) Approveda No candidate
    7 Emanuel "Chris" Welch (I) Approveda No candidate
    8 La Shawn K. Ford (I) Approveda No candidate
    9 Arthur Turner II (I) Approveda No candidate
    10 Melissa Conyears: 35,858 Approveda Mark Spognardi: 6,911
    11 Ann M. Williams: 38,028 (I) Approveda Gary Mandell: 15,115
    12 Sara Feigenholtz: 43,858 (I) Approveda Gene Witt: 14,161
    13 Greg Harris (I) Approveda No candidate
    14 Kelly Cassidy: 35,989 (I) Approveda No candidate
    15 John C. D'Amico: 25,586 (I) Approveda Jonathan Edelman: 16,030
    16 Lou Lang (I) Approveda No candidate
    17 Laura Fine (I) Approveda No candidate
    18 Robyn Gabel: 36,794 (I) Approveda Jessica Tucker: 20,580
    19 Robert F. Martwick, Jr. (I) Approveda No candidate
    20 Merry Marwig: 20,142 Michael McAuliffe: 25,739 (I) Approveda
    21 Silvana Tabares (I) Approveda No candidate
    22 Michael J. Madigan (I) Approveda No candidate
    23 Michael Zalewski (I) Approveda No candidate
    24 Elizabeth Hernandez: 23,079 (I) Approveda Andy Kirchoff: 5,969
    25 Barbara Flynn Currie (I) Approveda No candidate
    26 Christian Mitchell (I) Approveda No candidate
    27 Monique D. Davis (I) Approveda No candidate
    28 Robert Rita (I) Approveda No candidate
    29 Thaddeus Jones (I) Approveda No candidate
    30 William Davis (I) Approveda No candidate
    31 Mary E. Flowers (I) Approveda No candidate
    32 Andre Thapedi (I) Approveda No candidate
    33 Marcus Evans (I) Approveda No candidate
    34 Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (I) Approveda No candidate
    35 Frances Ann Hurley: 34,506 (I) Approveda Victor Horne: 18,081
    36 Kelly M. Burke (I) Approveda No candidate
    37 No candidate Margo McDermed (I) Approveda
    38 Al Riley (I) Approveda No candidate
    39 Will Guzzardi (I) Approveda No candidate
    40 Jaime Andrade (I) Approveda No candidate
    41 No candidate Grant Wehrli (I) Approveda
    42 Kathleen Carrier: 21,560 Jeanne M. Ives: 33,443 (I) Approveda
    43 Anna Moeller (I) Approveda No candidate
    44 Fred Crespo: 22,102 (I) Approveda Katy Dolan Baumer: 13,098
    45 Cynthia Borbas: 22,618 Christine Winger: 25,876 (I) Approveda
    46 Deborah O'Keefe Conroy: 23,369 (I) Approveda Heidi Holan: 16,257
    47 No candidate Patricia R. Bellock (I) Approveda
    48 Steve Swanson: 23,676 Peter Breen: 30,793 (I) Approveda
    49 No candidate Mike Fortner (I) Approveda
    50 Valerie L. Burd: 20,830 Keith R. Wheeler: 31,659 (I) Approveda
    51 No candidate Nick Sauer Approveda
    52 No candidate David McSweeney (I) Approveda
    53 No candidate David Harris (I) Approveda
    54 No candidate Thomas R. Morrison (I) Approveda
    55 Martin J. Moylan: 25,717 (I) Approveda Dan Gott: 17,811
    56 Michelle Mussman: 24,890 (I) Approveda Jillian Bernas: 19,693
    57 Elaine Nekritz (I) Approveda No candidate
    58 Scott Drury: 29,338 (I) Approveda Marty Blumenthal: 21,756
    59 Carol Sente: 25,908 (I) Approveda Dawn Abernathy: 16,656
    60 Rita Mayfield: 22,402 (I) Approveda Robert Ochsner: 6,909
    61 Nick Ciko: 19,947 Sheri Jesiel: 26,692 (I) Approveda
    62 Sam Yingling: 22,050 (I) Approveda Rod Drobinski: 19,993
    63 John M. Bartman: 19,808 Steven Reick: 25,699 Approveda
    64 No candidate Barbara Wheeler (I) Approveda
    65 No candidate Steven A. Andersson (I) Approveda
    66 Nancy Zettler: 20,083 Allen Skillicorn: 27,295 Approveda
    67 Litesa E. Wallace (I) Approveda No candidate
    68 Tricia Sweeney: 17,655 John M. Cabello: 31,139 (I) Approveda
    69 Angelique Bodine: 16,032 Joe Sosnowski: 32,961 (I) Approveda
    70 No candidate Robert W. Pritchard (I) Approveda
    71 Mike Smiddy: 18,082 (I) Tony McCombie: 30,635 Approveda
    72 Michael Halpin: 25,014 Approveda Brandi McGuire: 19,342
    73 No candidate Ryan Spain Approveda
    74 Bill Butts: 18,185 Daniel Swanson: 34,567 Approveda
    75 Martha Shugart: 20,833 David Welter: 29,030 (I) Approveda
    76 Andy Skoog: 22,759 (I) Jerry Long: 23,557 Approveda
    77 Kathleen Willis: 20,806 (I) Approveda Anthony Airdo: 8,762
    78 Camille Y. Lilly (I) Approveda No candidate
    79 Katherine Cloonen: 20,450 (I) Lindsay Parkhurst: 23,728 Approveda
    80 Anthony DeLuca (I) Approveda No candidate
    81 Greg Hose: 25,660 David Olsen: 29,406 (I) Approveda
    82 No candidate Jim Durkin (I) Approveda
    83 Linda Chapa LaVia (I) Approveda No candidate
    84 Stephanie Kifowit: 24,183 (I) Approveda Mike Strick: 14,242
    85 Emily McAsey (I) Approveda No candidate
    86 Lawrence Walsh, Jr. (I) Approveda No candidate
    87 No candidate Tim Butler (I) Approveda
    88 No candidate Keith P. Sommer (I) Approveda
    89 No candidate Brian Stewart (I) Approveda
    90 No candidate Tom Demmer (I) Approveda
    91 No candidate Michael Unes (I) Approveda
    92 Jehan Gordon-Booth (I) Approveda No candidate
    93 John Curtis: 19,163 Norine Hammond: 22,985 (I) Approveda
    94 Bobby Pritchett: 12,364 Randy Frese: 37,408 (I) Approveda
    95 Mike Mathis: 20,898 Avery Bourne: 27,601 (I) Approveda
    96 Sue Scherer (I) Approveda No candidate
    97 No candidate Mark Batinick (I) Approveda
    98 Natalie Manley (I) Approveda No candidate
    99 Tony DelGiorno: 22,188 Sara Wojcicki Jimenez: 35,363 (I) Approveda
    100 No candidate C.D. Davidsmeyer (I) Approveda
    101 Christine Law: 13,661 Bill Mitchell: 41,728 (I) Approveda
    102 No candidate Brad Halbrook Approveda
    103 Carol Ammons (I) Approveda No candidate
    104 No candidate Chad D. Hays (I) Approveda
    105 No candidate Dan Brady (I) Approveda
    106 No candidate Thomas M. Bennett (I) Approveda
    107 No candidate John Cavaletto (I) Approveda
    108 No candidate Charles E. Meier (I) Approveda
    109 No candidate David Reis (I) Approveda
    110 Dennis Malak: 16,121 Reginald "Reggie" Phillips: 29,398 (I) Approveda
    111 Daniel V. Beiser: 24,808 (I) Approveda Mike Babcock: 22,353
    112 Katie Stuart: 27,594 Approveda Dwight D. Kay: 25,875 (I)
    113 Jay C. Hoffman: 26,816 (I) Approveda Katherine Ruocco: 18,536
    114 LaToya Greenwood: 26,029 Approveda Bob Romanik: 19,492
    115 Marsha Griffin: 21,626 Terri Bryant: 26,454 (I) Approveda
    116 Jerry Costello Jr. (I) Approveda No candidate
    117 John E. Bradley: 24,032 (I) Dave Severin: 26,946 Approveda
    118 Brandon W. Phelps: 26,836 (I) Approveda Jason Kasiar: 19,108
     
    Notes:
    • An (I) denotes an incumbent.
    • Candidate lists can change frequently throughout an election season. Ballotpedia staff update this list monthly. To suggest changes, click here to email our State Legislature Project.

    Primary election

    2016 Illinois House candidates
    District Democratic Party Democrat Republican Party Republican Other
    1 Daniel J. Burke (I) Approveda No candidate
    2 Theresa Mah: 10,732 Approveda
    Alex Acevedo: 10,217
    No candidate
    3 Luis Arroyo (I) Approveda No candidate
    4 Cynthia Soto: 18,326 (I) Approveda
    Robert Zwolinski: 4,705
    No candidate
    5 Kenneth Dunkin: 9,300 (I)
    Juliana Stratton: 19,790 Approveda
    No candidate
    6 Kenyatta Vaughn: 4,530
    Genita Robinson: 5,019
    Darryl Smith: 5,585
    Sonya Harper: 7,348 (I) Approveda
    No candidate
    7 Chris Welch: 18,117 (I) Approveda
    Chris Harris: 9,521
    No candidate
    8 La Shawn K. Ford (I) Approveda No candidate
    9 Arthur Turner II (I) Approveda No candidate
    10 Melissa Conyears Approveda Mark Spognardi Approveda
    11 Ann M. Williams (I) Approveda Gary Mandell Approveda
    12 Sara Feigenholtz (I) Approveda Gene Witt Approveda
    13 Greg Harris (I) Approveda No candidate
    14 Kelly Cassidy (I) Approveda No candidate
    15 John C. D'Amico: 11,437 (I) Approveda
    Jac Charlier: 7,663
    Jonathan Edelman Approveda
    16 Lou Lang (I) Approveda No candidate
    17 Laura Fine (I) Approveda No candidate
    18 Robyn Gabel (I) Approveda Jessica Tucker Approveda
    19 Robert F. Martwick, Jr. (I) Approveda No candidate
    20 Merry Marwig Approveda Michael McAuliffe (I) Approveda
    21 Silvana Tabares (I) Approveda No candidate
    22 Michael J. Madigan: 17,155 (I) Approveda
    Joe Barboza: 518
    Jason Gonzales: 7,124
    Grasiela Rodriguez: 1,523
    No candidate
    23 Michael Zalewski (I) Approveda No candidate
    24 Elizabeth Hernandez (I) Approveda Andy Kirchoff Approveda
    25 Barbara Flynn Currie (I) Approveda No candidate
    26 Jay Travis: 11,489
    Christian Mitchell: 14,735 (I) Approveda
    No candidate
    27 Monique D. Davis (I) Approveda No candidate
    28 Robert Rita (I) Approveda No candidate
    29 Will Tillman: 3,501
    Thaddeus Jones: 17,934 (I) Approveda
    Kenny Williams: 6,030
    No candidate
    30 William Davis (I) Approveda No candidate
    31 Mary E. Flowers (I) Approveda No candidate
    32 Andre Thapedi (I) Approveda No candidate
    33 Marcus Evans (I) Approveda No candidate
    34 Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (I) Approveda No candidate
    35 Frances Ann Hurley (I) Approveda Victor Horne Approveda
    36 Kelly M. Burke (I) Approveda No candidate
    37 No candidate Margo McDermed (I) Approveda
    38 Al Riley (I) Approveda No candidate
    39 Will Guzzardi (I) Approveda No candidate
    40 Harish Patel: 8,812
    Jaime Andrade: 12,886 (I) Approveda
    No candidate
    41 No candidate Grant Wehrli (I) Approveda
    42 Kathleen Carrier Approveda Jeanne M. Ives (I) Approveda
    43 Anna Moeller (I) Approveda No candidate
    44 Fred Crespo (I) Approveda No candidate
    45 Cynthia Borbas Approveda Christine Winger (I) Approveda
    46 Deborah O'Keefe Conroy (I) Approveda Heidi Holan Approveda
    47 No candidate Patricia R. Bellock (I) Approveda
    48 No candidate Peter Breen (I) Approveda
    49 No candidate Mike Fortner (I) Approveda
    50 No candidate Keith R. Wheeler (I) Approveda
    51 No candidate Nick Sauer Approveda
    52 No candidate David McSweeney (I) Approveda
    53 No candidate David Harris (I) Approveda
    54 No candidate Thomas R. Morrison (I) Approveda
    55 Martin J. Moylan (I) Approveda Dan Gott Approveda
    56 Michelle Mussman (I) Approveda Jillian Bernas Approveda
    57 Elaine Nekritz (I) Approveda No candidate
    58 Scott Drury (I) Approveda No candidate
    59 Carol Sente (I) Approveda Dawn Abernathy Approveda
    60 Rita Mayfield (I) Approveda Robert Ochsner Approveda
    61 Nick Ciko Approveda Sheri Jesiel (I) Approveda
    62 Sam Yingling (I) Approveda Rod Drobinski Approveda
    63 Jack D. Franks (I) Approveda Steven Reick: 8,829 Approveda
    Jeffery Lichte: 6,057
    64 No candidate Barbara Wheeler (I) Approveda
    65 No candidate Steven A. Andersson (I) Approveda
    66 Nancy Zettler Approveda Allen Skillicorn: 4,816 Approveda
    Dan Wilbrandt: 3,962
    Carolyn Schofield: 4,211
    67 Litesa E. Wallace (I) Approveda No candidate
    68 Tricia Sweeney Approveda John M. Cabello (I) Approveda
    69 Angelique Bodine Approveda Joe Sosnowski (I) Approveda
    70 No candidate Robert W. Pritchard (I) Approveda
    71 Mike Smiddy (I) Approveda Tony McCombie Approveda
    72 Jeff Jacobs: 4,692
    Michael Halpin: 5,687 Approveda
    Katelyn Hotle: 3,042
    Glen Evans: 1,296
    Brandi McGuire: 5,170 Approveda
    Jordan Thoms: 3,650
    73 No candidate Ryan Spain Approveda
    74 Bill Butts Approveda Daniel Swanson: 8,462 Approveda
    Michael DeSutter: 6,027
    Wayne Saline: 2,867
    75 Martha Shugart Approveda John D. Anthony (I) Approveda
    76 Andy Skoog (I) Approveda Jacob Bramel: 4,497
    Jerry Long: 7,442 Approveda
    77 Kathleen Willis (I) Approveda Anthony Airdo Approveda
    78 Camille Y. Lilly (I) Approveda No candidate
    79 Katherine Cloonen (I) Approveda Lindsay Parkhurst Approveda
    80 Anthony DeLuca (I) Approveda No candidate
    81 Greg Hose Approveda Ron Sandack (I) Approveda
    82 No candidate Jim Durkin (I) Approveda
    83 Linda Chapa LaVia (I) Approveda No candidate
    84 Stephanie Kifowit (I) Approveda Mike Strick Approveda
    85 Emily McAsey (I) Approveda No candidate
    86 Lawrence Walsh, Jr. (I) Approveda No candidate
    87 No candidate Tim Butler (I) Approveda
    88 No candidate Keith P. Sommer (I) Approveda
    89 No candidate Brian Stewart (I) Approveda
    90 No candidate Tom Demmer (I) Approveda
    91 No candidate Michael Unes (I) Approveda
    92 Jehan Gordon-Booth (I) Approveda No candidate
    93 John Curtis Approveda Norine Hammond (I) Approveda
    94 Bobby Pritchett Approveda Randy Frese (I) Approveda
    95 Mike Mathis Approveda Dennis Scobbie: 4,681
    Christopher Hicks: 1,711
    Avery Bourne: 9,636 (I) Approveda
    96 Sue Scherer (I) Approveda Cindy Wolfer: 5,389 Approveda
    Gary Pierce: 3,589
    97 No candidate Mark Batinick (I) Approveda
    98 Natalie Manley (I) Approveda No candidate
    99 Tony DelGiorno Approveda Sara Jimenez: 14,196 (I) Approveda
    Kent Gray: 7,746
    100 No candidate C.D. Davidsmeyer (I) Approveda
    101 Christine Law Approveda Bill Mitchell (I) Approveda
    102 No candidate Randy Peterson: 3,960
    James Acklin: 8,190
    Brad Halbrook: 9,381 Approveda
    103 Carol Ammons (I) Approveda No candidate
    104 No candidate Chad D. Hays (I) Approveda
    105 No candidate Dan Brady (I) Approveda
    106 No candidate Thomas M. Bennett (I) Approveda
    107 No candidate John Cavaletto (I) Approveda
    108 No candidate Charles E. Meier (I) Approveda
    109 No candidate John Curtis: 5,149
    David Reis: 15,800 (I) Approveda
    110 No candidate Reggie Phillips: 10,940 (I) Approveda
    Jonathan Kaye: 7,428
    111 Daniel V. Beiser (I) Approveda No candidate
    112 Katie Stuart Approveda Dwight D. Kay (I) Approveda
    113 Jay C. Hoffman (I) Approveda Katherine Ruocco Approveda
    114 LaToya Greenwood Approveda Bob Romanik Approveda
    115 Marsha Griffin Approveda Terri Bryant (I) Approveda
    116 Jerry Costello Jr. (I) Approveda No candidate
    117 John E. Bradley (I) Approveda Dave Severin Approveda
    118 Brandon W. Phelps (I) Approveda Jason Kasiar Approveda
     
    Notes:
    • An (I) denotes an incumbent.
    • Candidate lists can change frequently throughout an election season. Ballotpedia staff update this list monthly. To suggest changes, click here to email our State Legislature Project.

    Margins of victory

    The average margin of victory for contested races in the Illinois House of Representatives in 2016 was lower than the national average. Out of 118 races in the Illinois House of Representatives in 2016, 48 were contested, meaning at least two candidates competed for that seat in the general election. The average margin of victory across these races was 23.6 percent. Across contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016, the average margin of victory was 29.01 percent.[3]

    Democratic candidates in the Illinois House of Representatives saw larger margins of victory than Republican candidates in 2016. Democrats won 67 races. In the 24 races where a winning Democrat faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 28.1 percent. Republicans won 51 races in 2016. In the 24 races where a winning Republican faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 19.2 percent.
    More Republican candidates than Democratic candidates saw margins of victory that were less than 10 percentage points. Nine of the 48 contested races in 2016—18.8 percent—saw margins of victory that were 10 percent or less. Three races saw margins of victory that were 5 percent or less. Republicans won six races with margins of victory of 10 percent or less.
    The average margin of victory for incumbents in the Illinois House of Representatives who ran for re-election and won in 2016 was lower than the national average. 102 incumbents who ran for re-election in 2016 won. The average margin of victory for the 37 winning Illinois House of Representatives incumbents who faced a challenger in 2016 was 25.3 percent. The average margin of victory for all winning incumbents in contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016 was 31.8 percent.
    Democratic incumbents in the Illinois House of Representatives saw larger margins of victory than Republican incumbents. 61 Democratic incumbents won re-election. In the 20 races where a winning Democratic incumbent faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 28.8 percent. 41 Republican incumbents won re-election. In the 17 races where a winning Republican incumbent faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 21.2 percent.
    Illinois House of Representatives: 2016 Margin of Victory Analysis
    Party Elections won Average margin of victory[4] Races with incumbent victories Average margin of victory for incumbents[4] Unopposed incumbents Unopposed races Percent unopposed
    Democratic 67 28.1 percent 61 28.8 percent 41 43 64.2 percent
    Republican 51 19.2 percent 41 21.2 percent 24 27 52.9 percent
    Total 118 23.6 percent 102 25.3 percent 65 70 59.3 percent

    Click [show] on the tables below to see the margin of victory in Illinois House of Representatives districts in 2016.

    Important dates and deadlines

    See also: Illinois elections, 2016

    The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Illinois in 2016.

    Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
    Deadline Event type Event description
    November 30, 2015 Ballot access Filing deadline for established party candidates
    January 14, 2016 Ballot access Filing deadline for write-in candidates for the primary election
    January 15, 2016 Campaign finance December quarterly report due
    March 15, 2016 Election date Primary election
    April 15, 2016 Campaign finance March quarterly report due
    June 27, 2016 Ballot access Filing deadline for new political party candidates and independent candidates
    July 15, 2016 Campaign finance June quarterly report due
    September 8, 2016 Ballot access Filing deadline for write-in candidates for the general election
    October 17, 2016 Campaign finance September quarterly report due
    November 8, 2016 Election date General election
    January 17, 2017 Campaign finance December quarterly report due
    Source: Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election and Campaign Finance Calendar 2016," accessed August 7, 2015

    Competitiveness

    Candidates unopposed by a major party

    In 72 of the 118 districts up for election in 2016, there was only one major party candidate running for election. A total of 45 Democrats and 27 Republicans were guaranteed election barring unforeseen circumstances.

    Two major party candidates faced off in the general election in 46 of the 118 districts up for election.

    Primary challenges

    Thirteen incumbents faced primary competition on March 15. Ten incumbents did not seek re-election and another 95 incumbents advanced past the primary without opposition.

    Retired incumbents

    Ten incumbent representatives did not run for re-election, while 108 (91.5%) ran for re-election. A list of those incumbents, five Republicans and five Democrats, can be found above.

    Results from 2014

    See also: 2014 state legislative elections analyzed using a Competitiveness Index

    There were 6,057 seats in 87 chambers with elections in 2014. All three aspects of Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Index—the number of open seats, incumbents facing primary opposition, and general elections between partisan candidates—showed poor results compared to the prior election cycle. States with elections in 2014 held fewer general elections between partisan candidates. Additionally, fewer incumbents faced primary opposition and more incumbents ran for re-election than in recent years.

    Since 2010, when the Competitiveness Index was established, there had not been an even-year election cycle to do statistically worse in any of the three categories. See the following chart for a breakdown of those scores between each year.

    Overall Competitiveness
    2010 2012 2014
    Competitiveness Index 36.2 35.8 31.4
    % Open Seats 18.6% 21.2% 17.0%
    % Incumbent with primary challenge 22.7% 24.6% 20.1%
    % Candidates with major party opposition 67.3% 61.7% 57.0%

    The following table details Illinois' rates for open seats, incumbents that faced primary challenges, and major party competition in the 2014 general election.

    Illinois General Assembly 2014 Competitiveness
    % Open Seats % Incumbent with primary challenge % Candidates with major party opposition Competitiveness Index Overall rank
    10.2% 11.4% 39.4% 20.3 16

    Historical context

    See also: Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections: 1972-2014

    Uncontested elections: In 2014, 32.8 percent of Americans lived in states with an uncontested state senate election. Similarly, 40.4 percent of Americans lived in states with uncontested house elections. Primary elections were uncontested even more frequently, with 61 percent of people living in states with no contested primaries. Uncontested elections often occur in locations that are so politically one-sided that the result of an election would be a foregone conclusion regardless of whether it was contested or not.

    F5 Pop. % with uncontested state legislative races.png

    Open seats: In most cases, an incumbent will run for re-election, which decreases the number of open seats available. In 2014, 83 percent of the 6,057 seats up for election saw the incumbent running for re-election. The states that impose term limits on their legislatures typically see a higher percentage of open seats in a given year because a portion of incumbents in each election are forced to leave office. Overall, the number of open seats decreased from 2012 to 2014, dropping from 21.2 percent in 2012 to 17.0 percent in 2014.

    Incumbent win rates: Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of elections between 1972 and 2014 documented the high propensity for incumbents to win re-election in state legislative elections. In fact, since 1972, the win rate for incumbents had not dropped below 90 percent—with the exception of 1974, when 88 percent of incumbents were re-elected to their seats. Perhaps most importantly, the win rate for incumbents generally increased over time. In 2014, 96.5 percent of incumbents were able to retain their seats. Common convention holds that incumbents are able to leverage their office to maintain their seat. However, the high incumbent win rate may actually be a result of incumbents being more likely to hold seats in districts that are considered safe for their party.

    Marginal primaries: Often, competitiveness is measured by examining the rate of elections that have been won by amounts that are considered marginal (5 percent or less). During the 2014 election, 90.1 percent of primary and general election races were won by margins higher than 5 percent. Interestingly, it is usually the case that only one of the two races—primary or general—will be competitive at a time. This means that if a district's general election is competitive, typically one or more of the district's primaries were won by more than 5 percent. The reverse is also true: If a district sees a competitive primary, it is unlikely that the general election for that district will be won by less than 5 percent. Primaries often see very low voter turnout in comparison to general elections. In 2014, there were only 27 million voters for state legislative primaries, but approximately 107 million voters for the state legislative general elections.

    Campaign contributions

    The following chart shows how many candidates ran for State House in Illinois in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in State House races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests.[5]

    Illinois House of Representatives Donations
    Year Candidates Amount
    2014 212 $53,437,607
    2012 238 $48,808,946
    2010 261 $49,815,463
    2008 224 $41,775,350
    2006 214 $38,424,468

    State comparison

    The map below shows the average contributions to 2014 candidates for state houses. The average contributions raised by state house candidates in 2014 was $59,983. Illinois, at $252,064 per candidate, is ranked two of 45 for state house chambers with the highest average contributions. Hover your mouse over a state to see the average campaign contributions for that state’s house candidates in 2014.[5][6]

    Qualifications

    Article IV of the Illinois Constitution states: "To be eligible to serve as a member of the General Assembly, a person must be a United States citizen, at least 21 years old, and for the two years preceding his election or appointment a resident of the district which he is to represent. In the general election following a redistricting, a candidate for the General Assembly may be elected from any district which contains a part of the district in which he resided at the time of the redistricting and re-elected if a resident of the new district he represents for 18 months prior to re-election."[7]

    Candidates removed from the ballot

    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. Under Ballotpedia's competitiveness criteria, districts that have a margin of victory of less than 5 percent were considered highly competitive. Districts that have a margin of victory from 5 to 10 percent were considered mildly competitive.
    2. Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election and Campaign Finance Calendar," accessed November 30, 2015
    3. This calculation excludes chambers that had elections where two or more members were elected in a race. These chambers are the Arizona House, the New Hampshire House, the North Dakota House, the South Dakota House, the Vermont House, the Vermont Senate, and the West Virginia House.
    4. 4.0 4.1 Excludes unopposed elections
    5. 5.0 5.1 followthemoney.org, "Contributions to candidates and committees in elections in Illinois," accessed July 28, 2015
    6. This map relies on data collected in July 2015.
    7. Illinois General Assembly, "Illinois Constitution," accessed March 28, 2014


    Current members of the Illinois House of Representatives
    Leadership
    Speaker of the House:Emanuel Welch
    Majority Leader:Robyn Gabel
    Representatives
    District 1
    District 2
    District 3
    District 4
    District 5
    District 6
    District 7
    District 8
    District 9
    District 10
    District 11
    District 12
    District 13
    District 14
    District 15
    District 16
    District 17
    District 18
    District 19
    District 20
    District 21
    District 22
    District 23
    District 24
    District 25
    District 26
    District 27
    District 28
    District 29
    District 30
    District 31
    District 32
    District 33
    District 34
    District 35
    Mary Gill (D)
    District 36
    District 37
    District 38
    District 39
    District 40
    District 41
    District 42
    District 43
    District 44
    District 45
    District 46
    District 47
    Amy Grant (R)
    District 48
    District 49
    District 50
    District 51
    District 52
    District 53
    District 54
    District 55
    District 56
    District 57
    District 58
    District 59
    District 60
    District 61
    District 62
    District 63
    District 64
    Tom Weber (R)
    District 65
    District 66
    District 67
    District 68
    District 69
    District 70
    District 71
    District 72
    District 73
    District 74
    District 75
    Jed Davis (R)
    District 76
    District 77
    District 78
    District 79
    District 80
    District 81
    District 82
    District 83
    District 84
    District 85
    District 86
    District 87
    District 88
    District 89
    District 90
    District 91
    District 92
    District 93
    District 94
    District 95
    District 96
    District 97
    District 98
    District 99
    District 100
    District 101
    District 102
    District 103
    District 104
    District 105
    District 106
    District 107
    District 108
    District 109
    District 110
    District 111
    Amy Elik (R)
    District 112
    District 113
    District 114
    District 115
    District 116
    District 117
    District 118
    Democratic Party (78)
    Republican Party (40)