Illinois is a Democratic state, and by most measures a solidly one. Democrats hold the governorship, both U.S. Senate seats, supermajorities in both chambers of the General Assembly, and have carried the state in every presidential election since 1992. Republicans remain competitive in rural and southern Illinois but have been shut out of statewide offices for years.
Who Currently Runs State Government
Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, won re-election in 2022 with about 54.9 percent of the vote. Both U.S. senators are Democrats: Tammy Duckworth was re-elected in 2022 with roughly 56.8 percent, and Dick Durbin, who has held his seat since 1997, announced in 2025 that he will not seek re-election in 2026.1U.S. Senator Dick Durbin. Durbin Announces He Will Not Seek Re-Election in 2026 His open seat will be one of the more prominent races of the 2026 cycle, though Democrats start with a strong structural advantage.
In the General Assembly, Democrats hold 40 of 59 State Senate seats to Republicans’ 19,2Illinois General Assembly. Illinois General Assembly – Senate Members and 78 of 118 House seats to Republicans’ 40.3Ballotpedia. Illinois House of Representatives Elections, 2026 Combined with the governor’s office, that makes Illinois a Democratic trifecta. The margins are wide enough that Democrats can pass legislation, including measures needing a supermajority, without any Republican votes.
The last Republican to hold statewide executive office was Governor Bruce Rauner, who served a single term from 2015 to 2019. The last Republican to carry Illinois in a presidential race was George H.W. Bush in 1988.
Presidential Voting Since 1992
Illinois has voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in eight consecutive elections. The state was genuinely competitive for most of the twentieth century, voting with the winning candidate in 24 of 26 presidential elections between 1896 and 1996, but that competitiveness is gone.
The recent numbers show why. In 2020, Joe Biden won Illinois with roughly 57.5 percent to Donald Trump’s 40.6 percent, a gap of about 17 points. In 2024, Kamala Harris took the state’s 19 electoral votes with approximately 54.4 percent to Trump’s 43.5 percent, an 11-point margin. The narrower spread tracked national movement rather than any real Republican gain in Illinois; neither campaign spent meaningful resources here.
The Geography Behind the Democratic Lean
Illinois politics is driven overwhelmingly by the Chicago metropolitan area. Cook County, which contains Chicago, is home to roughly 40 percent of the state’s population and votes heavily Democratic, generating margins large enough to swamp Republican performance elsewhere.
The five collar counties around Cook — DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane, and McHenry — used to reliably back Republicans as recently as the early 2000s. They have since shifted sharply toward Democrats. Four of the five went for the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020, and between the 2014 and 2022 gubernatorial races, Democratic performance in these suburbs improved by 10 to 20 percentage points. That suburban realignment is what closed the door on Republican statewide competitiveness.
Outside the Chicago metro area, Illinois looks very different. Rural counties, farming regions, and small towns across central and southern Illinois vote reliably Republican, often by wide margins. A handful of downstate urban centers and college towns lean Democratic or swing between parties, but they are exceptions. The math is unforgiving: the Chicago metro area holds roughly two-thirds of the state’s residents, and big Republican margins across dozens of smaller counties rarely close that gap.
What Democratic Control Has Produced
Single-party control has produced a legislative record aligned with national Democratic priorities.
On reproductive rights, the Reproductive Health Act of 2019 established abortion as a fundamental right under state law. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Illinois became a destination for patients from neighboring states with bans. A 2024 law added protections against discrimination based on reproductive health decisions in employment, housing, credit, and public accommodations.4Illinois Department of Human Rights. New Law Expands Reproductive Rights
On criminal justice, Illinois became the first state to eliminate cash bail when the Pretrial Fairness Act, part of the broader SAFE-T Act, took effect in September 2023. Judges now decide pretrial detention based on flight risk and public safety rather than ability to post bond. The Illinois Supreme Court upheld the law’s constitutionality in July 2023.
On firearms, the Protect Illinois Communities Act, signed in January 2023, banned the sale and manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms, high-capacity magazines, and .50 caliber rifles, and required existing owners to register lawfully possessed weapons with the Illinois State Police.5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9 The law is currently in federal litigation.
Where the Democratic Advantage Has Limits
The lock on statewide offices doesn’t mean voters follow the party on every question. In 2020, Illinois voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have allowed a graduated income tax, even though the Democratic establishment backed it heavily. The state still operates under a flat individual income tax of 4.95 percent, unchanged since mid-2017.6Illinois Department of Revenue. Income Tax Rates And Republican candidates continue to win by wide margins across most of downstate Illinois, keeping the party a real presence in the General Assembly even without a path to statewide victory.