Uncontested in the primary, local state legislature candidates advance to November

Outside of presidential and congressional candidates, Illinois voters also voted for state legislature candidates on Tuesday. Competitive races — where more than a single candidate is running for a party nomination — were scant statewide and locally.

At stake this year are all 118 seats of the Illinois House of Representatives and 23 state Senate seats, or a little more than a third of the body. Less than 20% of those primary races were competitive in the primary, an analysis by The State Journal-Register found, none of them in Sangamon County.

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Primary winners set the stage for the November general election. Then, Republicans will try to eat into the super-majorities held by Democrats in both chambers, who first had to clear several challenges to incumbents.

Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, won by a significant margin over challenger Wesley Kash in the 58th Senate District. With no Democrats in the race, Tuesday's result in all practical matters decided who will represent the district. Bryant has served in the General Assembly since 2015 and in the Senate since 2021.

Reps. Blaine Wilhour, R-Beecher City and Adam Niemerg, two members of the far-right Illinois Freedom Caucus, were also primaried. Niemerg, R-Dietrich, was forced to run as a write-in candidate after being removed from the ballot due to an improperly notarized statement of candidacy.

Their respective Republican opponents — Matthew Hall and Jim Acklin — had received the backing of prominent education unions such as the Illinois Education Association and the Illinois Federation of Teachers. Wilhour easily dispatched of Hall, taking more than 80% of the vote.

The winner in the 102nd House District, just south of Danville and continuing south along the Indiana border, was not declared Tuesday night. Both Niemerg and Acklin were write-in candidates and county election offices had not reported any of the results as of 9:30 p.m.

The GOP also held open seats due to three legislators retiring at the end of their term. For Decatur Republican Rep. Dan Caulkins' seat, a familiar name received the nod: former Illinois Congressional District 13 candidate and granddaughter of Dwayne Andres, former CEO of agribusiness giant Archer Daniel Midland, Regan Deering.

Competitive races for Democrats were based in Chicagoland, including one involving one of the House's most-tenured members. Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, has served in the House since 1985 but saw House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch put his financial backing behind Michael Crawford — more than $1 million according to campaign finance reports. Crawford won handily with nearly 70% of the vote.

Senate District 20 in northwest Chicago was a crowded race featuring four Democratic candidates. Recently appointed state Sen. Natalie Toro, D-Chicago, will not continue in her new role, losing to Graciela Guzman. Guzman was endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Sangamon County ballots include four General Assembly seats — all in the House — this year. Here's an early look at those races.

House District 87

Rep. Bill Hauter, R-Morton, faced no competition in Tuesday's primary. His path to a second term is just about crystal clear with no Democratic candidate seeking office in the 87th House District.

Hauter's district straddles the outskirts of four central Illinois cities: Bloomington, Decatur, Peoria and Springfield. It also includes Lincoln, where he and Sen. Sally Turner, R-Beason, have voiced concerns for a proposed closure of the Logan Correctional Center.

House District 95

The matchup in House District 95 is now official. Both Rep. Mike Coffey, R-Springfield, and Village of Chatham Trustee Kristen Chiaro ran unopposed in the primary and will now face-off in November.

A win for Coffey would start his first elected term in the House, previously appointed to fill a vacant seat left by former Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, now serving as president of the Illinois Railroad Association.

Chiaro, the Democrat challenger, fought off a ballot challenge earlier this year to stay on the ballot. County Republicans claimed she had violated the state election code by signing the nomination papers of then Republican challenger Kelvin Coburn in addition to her own. The Illinois State Board of Elections ruled to keep her on the ballot since she had signed her papers before Coburn's — a Chatman resident who had already dropped out of the race at that point.

House District 96

It's deja vu in House District 96 where Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, will again face off against Republican challenger Lisa Smith.

Scherer, going after a seventh term in the House, dispatched Smith with relative ease in 2022 by more than 15 points. The district includes parts of Christian, Macon and Sangamon counties.

House District 108

Like Hauter, Rep. Wayne Rosenthal, R-Morrisonville, faces no competition from either party in this year's election.

Rosenthal first served in the House between 2011 and 2015 before serving as director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, appointed by former Gov. Bruce Rauner. This would be his fifth term in the chamber.

Contact Patrick M. Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.