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SPRINGFIELD – The 2022 campaign season got underway in earnest Monday as candidates lined up in front of election offices to turn in petitions to get their names on the June 28 primary election ballot.
Hundreds of candidates and their aides braved cold wind and snow early Monday to line up outside the Illinois State Board of Elections office in Springfield to ensure their placement on the ballot.
Monday was the first day established party candidates could file their petitions. The deadline for turning in petitions is next Monday, March 14.
Illinois voters will cast ballots this year for governor and lieutenant governor as well as statewide constitutional officers, all 118 seats in the Illinois House and 59 seats in the state Senate, circuit, appellate court and state Supreme Court judges, congressional seats, and a U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Tammy Duckworth.
Voters in parts of Illinois will also cast ballots for county board members and various other local government offices.
This year’s primary was pushed back from its normal time in early March due to delays in the redistricting process brought about by delays in the release of 2020 census data due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That revised schedule could have an impact on who turns out to vote in the primary. The late June date means many college students who would normally vote on campus will be home for summer break while many other voters who would normally turn out in March may be away on vacation.
“I don’t know. Hard to tell, to be honest,” Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said when asked how the revised date might affect the primary. “We haven’t had that in Illinois, so long as I can remember anyway, so no. I’m excited. I really think we’re in great shape.”
Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton are waging their first reelection bid this year. They won the 2018 election with 54.5 percent of the vote over former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti.
It is not believed they will face any primary opposition this year but a full slate of Republican candidates are lining up to challenge them. Among the challengers for governor are Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin; state Sen. Darren Bailey, of Xenia; former state Sen. Paul Schimpf, of Waterloo; Chicago-area businessman Gary Rabine; and venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan, of Petersburg, among others.
