2214 United States Senate election in Illinois

Robert Ksiazkiwicz
Democratic
Julia Jaoui
Democratic

The **2214 United States Senate election in Illinois** was held November 8, 2214 to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Illinois, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

Incumbent United States Senator Robert Ksiazkiwicz announced that he would not run for a fourth term.

The Democratic nominee, former Cook County State's Attorney Julia Jaoui narrowly defeated the Republican nominee, U.S. Representative and former Governor Keyonna Ray in one of the closest senate elections in 2214.

## Background

Illinois is the second-most populated state in the union. With almost 30 million citizens, Illinois is home to a diverse conglomerate of communities and political views. The state is Democratic leaning, but has voted for republicans in recent memory. Housing, education, and infrastructure are always pressing issues in each election.

Incumbent Senator Robert Ksiazkiwicz was a Red Dog Democrat from Rockford. A former educator and the Minority Whip of the Senate Education Committee, Ksiakiwicz announced that he would not run for a fourth term. During his tenure, he fought for incentives for teachers recruitment, the re-privatization of transportation, the development of infrastructure and the building of new schools, and opposed any expansionism efforts. Ksiakiwicz was normally had the support of Republicans in his general election campaigns, and actively stayed on the campaign trail to make sure another Red Dog Democrat kept the seat.

## Democratic Primary

### Candidates

#### Nominee

* Julia Jaoui, former Cook County State's Attorney (2196-2212)

#### Defeated In the Primary

* Jennifer Chung, Mayor of Rockford
* Bailey Dennerson, U.S. Representative
* Kalissa Frost, former TV News Anchor; candidate for IL-27 in 2212
* Jarrod Qian, Congressional Aide
* Donsha White, Chicago City Alderwoman
* Dave Youngs, Illinois Secretary of State

#### Withdrawn

* Kiesha Liccketto, former state representative *(ran for state senate)*
* Crystal Penner, Peoria city councilwoman

#### Declined to Run

* Fern Beatty, U.S. Representative
* Katherine Huang, Chicago City Alderwoman
* Shemida Lawrence, former Majority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives
* Elisha Thornton-Sims, State Senator *(ran for Governor)*
* Nicholas Werner, state representative *(ran for Congress)*
* Clark Yoder, Illinois State Comptroller; former state senator *(ran for re-election)*
* Kentravious Young, Majority Leader of the Illinois State Senate *(ran for Congress)*

## Republican Primary

### Candidates

#### Nominee

* Keyonna Ray, U.S. Representative; former Governor of Illinois

#### Defeated in the Primary

* Jarieu Didavi, former Attorney General of Illinois
* Joi Hughes, U.S. Representative
* Caitlyn Phan, Chicago city alderwoman
* Harper Ragano, DuPage County Commissioner
* Victor Shortz, former state representative; nominee for IL-33 in 2212
* Sandra Waytula, Member of the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education

#### Withdrawn

* D. Ruth Broy, former State Senator
* Lloyd Adams Steeprow, state represenatitve *(ran for re-election)*
* Dede Martin Tye, Lake County State's Attorney *(ran for Illinois Attorney General)*

#### Declined

* Marckenson Ha, former Lieutenant Governor of Illinois *(ran for Governor)*
* Stacey Hamric, former Illinois State Comptroller
* C.J. Han, U.S. Representative *(ran for re-election)*
* Helen Mejia, U.S. Representative
* Cloe White, former state representative
* Jazmyne Yang, state senator