BELLEVILLE 鈥� People who want to run as a Democrat or Republican in the November 2020 elections had until the end of the day Monday to file their paperwork with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
The filing deadline is for seats in the Illinois General Assembly and Congress and only applies to people who want to represent one of the two leading parties. Independent and third-party candidates have until June 22, 2020, to file their paperwork.
Here is a preview of some of the region鈥檚 more competitive races:
13th and 15th congressional seats
Two congressional races in the region may be the most interesting to watch in the 2020 election cycle.
There is no incumbent running for Illinois鈥� 15th congressional seat; Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, . In his absence, seven candidates are running for the open seat: three Republican and four Democratic.
鈥淭here is a real value to incumbency,鈥� said state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Belleville. 鈥淗im stepping down leaves a void the Democrats have a chance to pick up.鈥�
But flipping the seat from red to blue won鈥檛 be trivial since the district has been a consistent , said Kenneth Moffett, a political science professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Shimkus held the seat, which includes Collinsville but mostly covers southeastern Illinois to the Kentucky and Indiana borders, since 1996.
Without Shimkus running, Moffett said, the Republican March primary is important to watch because the winner of it will likely win the general election in November.
鈥淚t seems somewhat wide open at this point,鈥� he said.
The 13th congressional district will likely be a rematch of the 2018 race, Moffett said. Betsy Dirksen Londrigan will square off against incumbent U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, again if she wins her primary against Stefanie Smith.
The race in 2018 was close. Davis beat Londrigan by 3.6 percentage points in a district that , according to the politics blog FiveThirtyEight.
鈥淭hat was one of the closest races in the country,鈥� said Hoffman, who is running to keep his seat. 鈥淎t the beginning of the campaign, many people didn鈥檛 think she had a shot.鈥�
As of the deadline, no one had filed paperwork indicating they would challenge Hoffman, but there is still time for an independent or third-party candidate to do so.
In 2020, the presidential election could tip the scales in Londrigan鈥檚 favor, Hoffman said. He said he sees the many colleges and universities inside the 13th district playing a large role in the election outcome. The district includes parts of Edwardsville and Glen Carbon and extends north to also encompass Springfield, Decatur, Champaign and Bloomington.
Here is a list of candidates who have filed paperwork to run in U.S. Senate or House races and Illinois State Senate and House races ahead of the Monday deadline:
U.S. Senate
, D-Springfield (incumbent)
, R-Belleville
, R-Springfield
, R-Libertyville
, R-Glenview
, R-Burr Ridge
12th Congressional District
, R-Murphysboro (incumbent)
, D-Mascoutah
, D-Makanda
13th Congressional District
, R-Taylorville (incumbent)
, D-Springfield
, D-Urbana
15th Congressional District
, D-Charleston
, D-Mattoon
, D-Salem
, D-Collinsville
, R-Oakland
, R-Altamont
, R-Rossville
, R-Leland Grove
, R-Camargo
, R-Grafton
State Senate District 58
, R-Murphsyboro
State House District 108
, R-Okawville (incumbent)
, D-Hoyleton
State House District 111
, D-Godfrey (incumbent)
, R-Alton
State House District 112
, D-Edwardsville (incumbent)
State House District 113
, D-Belleville (incumbent)
State House District 114
, D-East St. Louis (incumbent)
, R-Belleville
State House District 116
, D-Steeleville (incumbent)
, R-Red Bud
, R-Millstadt
, R-Baldwin
This story will be updated to reflect any last-minute filings. You can see the candidates from
Eric Schmid covers the Metro East for 漏 2024 外网天堂 as part of the journalism grant program , an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. Follow Eric on Twitter:
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