2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois

The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois were held on November 6, 2018, to elect U.S. representatives, one from each of the state's eighteen congressional districts.

The primaries for all parties were held on March 20, 2018. The state congressional delegation changed from an 11–7 Democratic majority to a 13–5 Democratic majority.

By district
Results of the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois by district:

District 1
Incumbent Democrat Bobby Rush, who had represented the district since 1993, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 74.1% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+27.

Nominee

 * Bobby Rush, incumbent U.S. Representative

Withdrew

 * Howard Brookins, Chicago alderman for the 21st Ward and candidate for this seat in 2016

Nominee

 * Jimmy Lee Tillman, II, son of former Chicago alderman Dorothy Tillman, nominee for this seat in 2014 and candidate in 2016

District 2
Incumbent Democrat Robin Kelly, who had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 79.8% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+29.

Nominee

 * Robin Kelly, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Marcus Lewis, postal worker, independent candidate for this seat in 2012 & 2013 and Democratic candidate in 2014 & 2016

Nominee

 * David Merkle

Eliminated in primary

 * Patrick Harmon
 * John Morrow, nominee for this seat in 2016

District 3
Incumbent Democrat Dan Lipinski, who had represented the district since 2005, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 100.0% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+6.

Nominee

 * Dan Lipinski, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Marie Newman, businesswoman and activist

Republican primary
Jewish Republicans called for Cook County Republican chairman Sean Morrison to resign for failing to recruit any candidate to oppose Art Jones, a self-professed Nazi, Holocaust denier, white nationalist, and white supremacist who became the Republican nominee.

Nominee

 * Arthur Jones, former chair of the American Nazi Party, holocaust denier, and white supremacist

Declared

 * Justin Hanson, lawyer and Republican former congressional staffer
 * Richard Mayers, perennial candidate and alleged white supremacist     congressional candidate in 2000, 2002, 2008, and 2016;  1998 State House candidate; 1993 Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate
 * Kenneth Yerkes, dentist

Declined

 * Christopher Reilly, Palos Township trustee

District 4
Incumbent Democrat Luis Gutiérrez, who had represented the district since 1993, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 79.8% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+33.

Democratic primary
A day after filing petitions to run for reelection, Gutierrez announced he would not seek re-election in 2018 and retire at the end of his current term.



Gutierrez's announcement led multiple Democrats to begin circulating petitions. Jesús "Chuy" García, a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, and Proco Joe Moreno, both members of the Chicago City Council, circulated petitions for the nomination. Ramirez-Rosa and Moreno withdrew. Gutiérrez endorsed García.

On November 28, 2017, Richard Gonzalez filed to run for the Democratic nomination.

Nominee

 * Jesús "Chuy" García, Cook County commissioner for the 7th district

Eliminated in primary

 * Sol Flores, founding executive director of La Casa Norte
 * Richard Gonzalez, Chicago Police Department sergeant

Withdrew

 * Raymond Lopez, Chicago city councilman for the 15th ward
 * Proco Joe Moreno, Chicago city councilman for the 1st ward
 * Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Chicago city councilman for the 35th ward (endorsed Jesús "Chuy" García)

Nominee

 * Mark Lorch

District 5
Incumbent Democrat Mike Quigley, who had represented the district since 2009, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 67.8% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+20.

Per the Illinois Board of Elections, four Democrats and one Republican filed to run in the 5th congressional district.

Nominee

 * Mike Quigley, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Sameena Mustafa
 * Steven J. Schwartzberg
 * Ben Wolf, former FBI agent

Nominee

 * Tom Hanson

District 6
Incumbent Republican Peter Roskam, who had represented the district since 2007, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 59.2% of the vote in 2016, while Democrat Hillary Clinton defeated Republican Donald Trump in the presidential election by a seven-point margin in that district. The district had a PVI of R+2.

Nominee

 * Peter Roskam, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary
Clinton's victory in the historically Republican district led to a large amount of Democratic interest. On January 30, 2017, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced the 6th as one of three Illinois targets.

Nominee

 * Sean Casten, scientist and former energy business owner

Eliminated in primary

 * Becky Anderson Wilkins, Naperville city council member
 * Carole Cheney, former chief of staff to U.S. Representative Bill Foster and candidate for Illinois House of Representatives in 2012
 * Amanda Howland, College of Lake County trustee, nominee for this seat in 2016, candidate for Illinois State Senate in 2012 and candidate for Illinois House of Representatives in 2006 & 2008
 * Ryan Huffman, data analyst
 * Kelly Mazeski, Barrington Hills planning commissioner and candidate for Illinois State Senate in 2016
 * Jennifer Zordani, regulatory attorney and former non-profit president

Withdrawn

 * Grace Haaf, business owner and former CIA cyber security analyst
 * Suzyn Price, former Naperville Board of Education member

Declined

 * Geoffrey Petzel, candidate for this seat in 2012
 * Jason Snelson, restaurant operations manager
 * Austin Songer, U.S. Navy veteran

Forum

 * Complete radio debate (2 parts): July 1, 2018

District 7
Incumbent Democrat Danny K. Davis, who had represented the district since 1997, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 84.2% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+38.

Nominee

 * Danny K. Davis, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Anthony Clark, high school teacher

Nominee

 * Craig Cameron

Eliminated in primary

 * Jeffrey Leef

District 8
Incumbent Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, who had represented the district since 2017, ran for re-election. He was elected with 58.3% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+8.

Nominee

 * Raja Krishnamoorthi, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Jitendra "JD" Diganvker, entrepreneur

District 9
Incumbent Democrat Jan Schakowsky, who had represented the district since 1999, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 66.5% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+18.

Nominee

 * Jan Schakowsky, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * John D. Elleson, pastor

Eliminated in primary

 * Sargis Sangari, U.S. Army veteran
 * Maxwell Rice
 * D. Vincent Thomas Jr., U.S. Coast Guard veteran

District 10
Incumbent Democrat Brad Schneider, who had represented the district since 2017 and he previously between 2013 and 2015, ran for re-election. He was reelected with 52.6% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+10.

Nominee

 * Brad Schneider, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Douglas Bennett, computer engineer

Eliminated in primary

 * Sapan Shah, physician
 * Jeremy Wynes, midwest director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Republican Jewish Coalition

District 11
Incumbent Democrat Bill Foster, who had represented the district since 2013 and had previously served the 14th district from 2008 to 2011, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 60.4% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+9.

Nominee

 * Bill Foster, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Nick Stella

Eliminated in primary

 * Connor Vlakancic

District 12
Incumbent Republican Mike Bost, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 54.3% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+5.

Nominee

 * Mike Bost, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Preston Nelson

Democratic primary
On May 22, 2017, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced the 12th as a target on the list of expanded targets.

Nominee

 * Brendan Kelly, St. Clair County state attorney

Eliminated in primary

 * David Bequette, businessman

Withdrawn

 * Adam King, bartender and former archive technician at the National Archives and Records Administration
 * Pat McMahan, Mascoutah city councilman
 * Chris Miller, businessman
 * Dean Pruitt, businessman, mathematician, and co-founder and former science director of the City Museum
 * John Sholar, attorney

Declined

 * Nathan Colombo, marketing executive

Nominee

 * Randall Auxier, professor of philosophy and communications studies at Southern Illinois University - Carbondale

District 13
Incumbent Republican Rodney Davis, who had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 59.7% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+3.

Declared

 * Rodney Davis, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary
On January 30, 2017, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced the 13th as one of three Illinois targets.

Nominee

 * Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, nonprofit executive

Eliminated in primary

 * Jon Ebel, director of graduate studies in religion at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
 * David Gill, physician and nominee for the 15th district in 2004, 2006, 2010 and for this seat in 2012
 * Erik Jones, former Illinois Assistant Attorney General
 * Angel Sides

Withdrawn

 * Benjamin Webb, teacher

Declined

 * Carol Ammons, state representative
 * Dillon Clark, Montgomery County board-member

District 14
Incumbent Randy Hultgren, who had represented the district since 2011, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 59.3% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+5.

Nominee

 * Randy Hultgren, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary
On January 30, 2017, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced the 14th as one of three Illinois targets.

Nominee

 * Lauren Underwood, nurse and former senior advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Eliminated in primary

 * Matt Brolley, Montgomery village president
 * Victor Swanson, high school teacher
 * Jim Walz, nominee for this seat in 2016

District 15
Incumbent Republican John Shimkus, who had represented the district since 1997, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 100.0% of the vote in 2016 The district had a PVI of R+21.

Nominee

 * John Shimkus, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Kevin Gaither, teacher

Eliminated in primary

 * Carl Spoerer

Withdrawn

 * Anthony March

District 16
Incumbent Republican Adam Kinzinger, who had represented the district since 2011, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 100.0% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+8.

Nominee

 * Adam Kinzinger, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * James Marter, candidate for U.S. Senate in 2016

Nominee

 * Sara Dady, lawyer

Eliminated in primary

 * Neill Mohammad, healthcare management consultant
 * Amy Murri Briel

Withdrew

 * Chris Minelli, attorney

District 17
Incumbent Democrat Cheri Bustos, who had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election, after exploring a run for Governor of Illinois. She was re-elected with 60.3% of the vote in 2016, while Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in the presidential election by less than a one-point margin in the district. The district had a PVI of D+3.

Nominee

 * Cheri Bustos, incumbent U.S. Representative

Republican primary
On February 8, 2017, the National Republican Congressional Committee announced the 17th as one of its initial targets.

Nominee

 * Bill Fawell, real estate broker

District 18
Incumbent Republican Darin LaHood, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 72.1% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+15.

Nominee

 * Darin LaHood, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Donald Rients

Nominee

 * Junius Rodriguez, history professor

Eliminated in primary

 * Brian Deters
 * Darrel Miller