United States Senate elections in Illinois, 2014

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	; ; 2014 U.S. Senate Elections in Illinois
	General Election Date ; November 4, 2014
	Primary Date ; March 18, 2014
	November 4 Election Winner: ; Richard Durbin
	Incumbent prior to election: ; Richard Durbin
	Race Ratings; Cook Political Report: Solid D; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe D
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	2014 U.S. House Elections

**U.S. Senate, Illinois General Election, 2014**
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Richard Durbin Incumbent	53.5%	1,929,637
	Republican	Jim Oberweis	42.7%	1,538,522
	Libertarian	Sharon Hansen	3.8%	135,316
Total Votes				3,603,475
Source: Illinois Secretary of State Official Results

Voters in Illinois elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 4, 2014.

Incumbent Richard Durbin (D) defeated challenger Jim Oberweis (R) in the general election. Durbin was first elected in 1996 and ran for re-election in 2014. Polls showed that Durbin was likely to face no significant threats to his seat. Cook Political Report designated the general election to be "Solid D" with Durbin likely to continue his tenure. Durbin also defeated Libertarian Party candidate Sharon Hansen in the general election. Each candidate ran unopposed in their primary.

Oberweis and Durbin remained split between their party lines on main issues, particularly immigration reform. Durbin presented himself as a long-term senator who had dedicated his time to serving Illinois and bringing in numerous benefits from the federal government to the state. Oberweis, on the other hand, argued that Durbin's tenure made him a "career politician" who was out of touch with the general population in Illinois.^[3]

Polls showed Durbin maintaining a resounding lead with over a majority of likely voters consistently showing their support for his campaign. Durbin maintained a large amount of wealth within his campaign coffers, totaling over $6 million cash-on-hand. State Senator Oberweis had around $500,000 cash-on-hand but had seen his contributions dwindle leading up to the general election.

Since Durbin was a member of the Democratic Senate leadership and resides in a state favorable to Democrats, many expected that some of Durbin's raised funds would likely go elsewhere to battleground states.^[4] Since 2008, Durbin gave $2,385,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which worked to elect Democrats to the Senate.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
December 2, 2013	March 18, 2014	November 4, 2014

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Illinois uses an open primary system. Voters do not have to register with a party, but they do have to choose, publicly, which party's ballot they will vote on at the primary election.^[5]^[6]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by February 18, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 7, 2014.^[7]

See also: Illinois elections, 2014

Incumbent: The election filled the Senate seat held by Richard Durbin (D). Durbin was first elected in 1996.

Candidates

General election candidates

March 18, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary

Doug Truax^[8]
Jim Oberweis: State Senator^[9]^[10]a

Democratic Primary

Dick Durbin - Incumbenta

Libertarian Party Candidates

Sharon Hansen^[11]

Constitution Party Candidates

Chad Koppie

Green Party Candidates

Omar Lopez

Independent Party Candidates

Roger Davis

Removed from ballot

Failed to file

Elections

General Election results

The state of Illinois held an election for the U.S. Senate on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Dick Durbin (D) defeated challengers Jim Oberweis (R) and Sharon Hansen (L) in the general election.

**U.S. Senate, Illinois General Election, 2014**
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Richard Durbin Incumbent	53.5%	1,929,637
	Republican	Jim Oberweis	42.7%	1,538,522
	Libertarian	Sharon Hansen	3.8%	135,316
Total Votes				3,603,475
Source: Illinois Secretary of State Official Results

Primary results

**U.S. Senate, Illinois Republican Primary, 2014**
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jim Oberweis	56.1%	423,097
Doug Truax	43.9%	331,237
Sherry Procarione (Write-in)	0%	54
Total Votes		754,388
Source: Illinois State Board of Elections

Key votes

Below are important votes the incumbent cast during the 113th Congress.

Government shutdown

See also: United States budget debate, 2013

During the shutdown in October 2013, the Senate rejected, down party lines, every House-originated bill that stripped the budget of funding for the Affordable Care Act. A deal was reached late on October 16, 2013, just hours before the debt ceiling deadline. The bill to reopen the government, H.R. 2775, lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.^[19] The final vote on H.R. 2775 was 81-18, with all 18 votes against the bill from Republican members. Dick Durbin voted with the Democratic Party for the bill.^[20]

Polls

General election match-up
Poll	Dick Durbin (D)	Jim Oberweis (R)	Undecided	Margin of Error	Sample Size

APC/Chicago Tribune September 3-12, 2014	55%	32%	7%	+/-3.5	800
We Ask America July 30, 2014	53%	38%	9%	+/-3.04	1,049
We Ask America June 12, 2014	52%	39%	9%	+/-2.93	1,116
Rasmussen Reports April 9-10, 2014	51%	37%	10%	+/-4.0	750
Public Policy Polling November 22-25, 2013	51%	36%	12%	+/-4.2	557
We Ask America September 24, 2013	50%	39%	11%	+/-2.86	1,434
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]

Hypothetical general election match-up
Poll	Dick Durbin (D)	Chad Koppie (R)	Undecided	Margin of Error	Sample Size

Public Policy Polling November 22-25, 2013	52%	35%	13%	+/-4.2	557
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]

Hypothetical general election match-up
Poll	Dick Durbin (D)	Doug Truax (R)	Undecided	Margin of Error	Sample Size

Public Policy Polling November 22-25, 2013	51%	33%	16%	+/-4.2	557
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]

Campaign contributions

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season.

Dick Durbin (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
April Quarterly^[21]	July 17, 2013	$2,590,707.97	$736,166.29	$(98,773.76)	$3,228,100.50
July Quarterly^[22]	July 18, 2013	$3,228,100.50	$1,276,377.58	$(248,330.72)	$4,256,147.36
October Quarterly^[23]	October 13, 2013	$4,256,147.36	$876,176.52	$(269,967.15)	$4,862,356.73
Year-end^[24]	January 31, 2014	$4,862,356	$967,454	$(275,601)	$5,554,209
April Quarterly^[25]	April 15, 2014	$5,554,209	$476,537	$(90,878)	$6,062,115
July Quarterly^[26]	July 15, 2014	$6,062,115	$1,045,697	$(596,051)	$6,511,761
			Running totals
			$5,378,408.39	$(1,579,601.63)

Jim Oberweis (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
Year End^[27]	January 31, 2014	$0	$605,090	$(15,466)	$589,623
Pre-Primary^[28]	March 7, 2014	$589,623	$103,539	$(146,401)	$546,760
April Quarterly^[29]	April 15, 2014	$546,760	$49,068	$(122,748)	$473,081
July Quarterly^[30]	July 15, 2014	$473,081	$676,578	$(287,526)	$862,132
			Running totals
			$1,434,275	$(572,141)

Doug Truax (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
October Quarterly^[31]	October 15, 2013	$0.00	$132,657.59	$(101,503.57)	$31,154.02
Year End^[32]	January 31, 2014	$31,154	$106,768	$(93,685)	$44,236
Pre-Primary^[33]	April 2, 2014	$44,236	$77,859	$(84,772)	$37,323
April Quarterly^[34]	April 15, 2014	$37,323	$115,559	$(147,698)	$5,183
			Running totals
			$432,843.59	$(427,658.57)

Election history

2010

On November 2, 2010, Kirk won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Alexander "Alexi" Giannoulias (D), LeAlan M. Jones (G), Mike Labno (L), Robert L. "Bob" Zadek (I), Will Boyd (I), Corey Dabney (I), Susanne Atanus (I), Shon-Tiyon "Santiago" Horton (I), Avner Nager (I), Stan Jagla (I), Darren Raichart (I), and Lowell M. Seida (I) in the general election.^[35]

U.S. Senate, Illinois General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mark Steve Kirk	48%	1,778,698
	Democratic	Alexander "Alexi" Giannoulias	46.4%	1,719,478
	Green	LeAlan M. Jones	3.2%	117,914
	Libertarian	Mike Labno	2.4%	87,247
	Independent	Robert L. "Bob" Zadek	0%	561
	Independent	Will Boyd	0%	468
	Independent	Corey Dabney	0%	33
	Independent	Susanne Atanus	0%	19
	Independent	Shon-Tiyon "Santiago" Horton	0%	16
	Independent	Avner Nager	0%	15
	Independent	Stan Jagla	0%	12
	Independent	Darren Raichart	0%	9
	Independent	Lowell M. Seida	0%	3
Total Votes				3,704,473

2008

On November 4, 2008, Durbin won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Steve Sauerberg (R), Kathy Cummings (G), Larry A. Stafford (L), Chad N. Koppie (I) and Patricia Elaine Beard (I) in the general election.^[36]

U.S. Senate, Illinois General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Richard J. Durbin	67.8%	3,615,844
	Republican	Steve Sauerberg	28.5%	1,520,621
	Green	Kathy Cummings	2.2%	119,135
	Libertarian	Larry A. Stafford	0.9%	50,224
	Constitution Party of Illinois	Chad N. Koppie	0.5%	24,059
	Independent	Patricia Elaine Beard	0%	1
Total Votes				5,329,884

External links

Illinois State Board of Elections

Footnotes

[show]

Illinois' current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Tammy Duckworth (D)

Dick Durbin (D)

Representatives

District 1

Jonathan Jackson (D)

District 2

Robin Kelly (D)

District 3

Delia Ramirez (D)

District 4

Jesus Garcia (D)

District 5

Mike Quigley (D)

District 6

Sean Casten (D)

District 7

Danny Davis (D)

District 8

Raja Krishnamoorthi (D)

District 9

Jan Schakowsky (D)

District 10

Brad Schneider (D)

District 11

Bill Foster (D)

District 12

Mike Bost (R)

District 13

Nikki Budzinski (D)

District 14

Lauren Underwood (D)

District 15

Mary Miller (R)

District 16

Darin LaHood (R)

District 17

Eric Sorensen (D)

Democratic Party (16)

Republican Party (3)

[1] Cook Political Report, "2014 SENATE RACE RATINGS FOR JULY 18, 2014," accessed August 5, 2014

[2] Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2014 Senate Races," accessed August 5, 2014

[3] Journal Star, "Wide gap on the issues for Durbin, Oberweis in U.S. Senate race," October 12, 2014

[money-4] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named money

[primary-5] Illinois General Assembly, "Illinois Compiled Statutes 10 ILCS 5/7-41," accessed August 12, 2024

[6] National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed August 12, 2024

[ilboard-7] Illinois State Board of Elections, "Registering to Vote in Illinois," accessed January 3, 2014

[8] Daily Caller "Durbin gets a Republican challenger in Doug Truax" accessed July 15, 2013

[9] Capitol Fax, "Oberweis considering US Senate bid, touts poll results," accessed September 26, 2013

[10] Chicago Tribune, "Oberweis' 2014 Senate bid against Durbin worries Republican leaders," accessed November 11, 2013

[11] Sharon Hansen for U.S. Senate, "Home," accessed September 27, 2013

[12] Illinois Elections, "General Primary Candidate Detail," accessed March 16, 2014

[13] Illinois Election Division, "Candidate Detail," accessed December 2, 2013

[14] Illinois Elections, "William Lee Candidate Detail," accessed March 16, 2014

[15] Illinois Election Division, "Primary Candidate List," accessed December 3, 2013

[16] Chad Koppie for Illinois "Home" accessed July 18, 2013

[17] Prairie State Report "An Interview with Chad Koppie for U.S. Senate from Illinois" accessed July 18, 2013

[18] Federal Election Commission, "Kent Fitzsimmons," accessed October 30, 2013

[19] The Washington Post, "Reid, McConnell propose bipartisan Senate bill to end shutdown, extend borrowing," accessed October 16, 2013

[20] Senate.gov, "H.R. 2775 As Amended," accessed October 31, 2013

[21] Federal Election Commission, "April Quarterly," accessed July 26, 2013

[22] Federal Election Commission, "July Quarterly," accessed July 26, 2013

[23] Federal Election Commission, "October Quarterly," accessed October 29, 2013

[24] Federal Election Commission, "Year End Report," accessed February 19, 2014

[25] Federal Election Commission, "April Quarterly," accessed April 19, 2014

[26] Federal Election Commission, "July Quarterly," accessed October 16, 2014

[27] Federal Election Commission, "Year End Report," accessed May 14, 2014

[28] Federal Election Commission, "Pre-Primary," accessed May 14, 2014

[29] Federal Election Commission, "April Quarterly," accessed May 14, 2014

[30] Federal Election Commission, "July Quarterly," accessed October 16, 2014

[31] Federal Election Commission, "October Quarterly," accessed November 12, 2013

[32] Federal Election Commission, "Year End Report," accessed May 14, 2014

[33] Federal Election Commission, "Pre-Primary," accessed May 14, 2014

[34] Federal Election Commission, "April Quarterly," accessed May 14, 2014

[35] U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013

[36] U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008," accessed March 28, 2013

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United States Senate elections in Illinois, 2014

Contents

Candidates

Removed from ballot

Failed to file

Elections

General Election results

Primary results

Key votes

Government shutdown

Polls

Campaign contributions

Election history

2010

2008

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2024 Elections

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