Seventeen Democrats and five Republicans met the Monday filing deadline in Illinois to run in a special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
The primaries will be held on Feb. 26 for the 2nd Congressional District, followed by a general election vote on April 9, reports the Chicago Tribune. The special election was called after Jackson stepped down from Congress this past November, after 17 years in office. He faces federal ethics investigations and had been diagnosed with bipolar depression.
Former one-term U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson, who Jackson easily defeated in last year’s Democratic primary, was among five Democrats who filed just ahead of Monday’s deadline, along with Joyce Washington, a management consultant who lost a 2002 primary bid for governor.
The Illinois State Board of Elections is holding a special lottery today to decide which of the last five Democrats to file will get the last spot on the Democratic primary ballot, and a second lottery will decide which of the first five filers will appear atop the ballot.
Republican Lenny McAllister, a former conservative radio show host, will top the GOP ballot.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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