PRESS RELEASE from the
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE

CONTACT: Melanie Krakauer (312) 607-4977

Historic 82 contested Illinois House races on the 2022 ballot 
First time in decades more Republicans than Democrats run for Illinois General Assembly

CHICAGO (Aug. 1, 2022) – For their first time in at least 20 years, millions of Illinois voters will see something new on their general election ballots: choices about who will represent them in the Statehouse.

According to the Illinois Policy Institute, 82 Illinois House of Representatives races will have both a Republican and a Democratic candidate on the Nov. 8 ballot. During the past two decades, nearly half of Illinois’ 118 House races went uncontested.

As a result, over 75,000 more voters are expected to turn out at the polls in 2022. The vote total is expected to reach about 4.3 million.

Of the candidates on the ballot, Illinois Policy, the institute’s advocacy partner, recruited 34 House candidates and four Senate candidates.

An analysis of the 2022 ballot shows:

• A total of 152 Republicans are running for the Illinois General Assembly – 107 in the House and 45 in the Senate.
• 135 Democratic candidates are running for the General Assembly – 91 in the House and 44 in the Senate.
• There are five independents running for the Statehouse – three in the House and two in the Senate.

This year marks the first time there are more Republican candidates on the ballot than Democratic candidates since at least 1998.

“For years, Illinois’ legislative maps and candidacy systems have been broken, leaving voters feeling hopeless and exhausted that their vote didn’t count,” said Matt Paprocki, president of the Illinois Policy Institute. “This year disrupted that trend. Millions will now benefit from seeing a choice. Two or more candidates should be the standard for all political races.”

To read more about 2022 contested elections, visit illin.is/contested.

For bookings or interviews, contact media@illinoispolicy.org or (312) 607-4977.