Croke leads Democratic comptroller race as downstate voters dominate GOP
primaries
[March 18, 2026]
By
Nikoel Hytrek and UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)
SPRINGFIELD — As Gov. JB Pritzker’s hand-picked candidate cruised to a
high-profile victory in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Tuesday
night, another of his picks held a tight lead in the race for
comptroller.
State Rep. Margaret Croke, D-Chicago, held a 24,000-vote lead with 83
percent of votes reporting as of 10 p.m. — a roughly 2.4% advantage over
state Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago. The Associated Press had not
called the race as of 10 p.m. We’ll update this story as results are
finalized.
Croke has served in the Illinois General Assembly, representing
Chicago’s North Side since 2021. She is a close ally to Gov. JB Pritzker,
who endorsed her candidacy in early February. Her relationship with the
governor goes back to 2017 when she worked with him on his first
campaign and served on his transition team.
If the results hold, she’d face Bryan Drew, a southern Illinois
attorney, in the general election. He ran uncontested in the GOP
primary.
Previously, Croke was the deputy director at Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity. In the Illinois House, Croke chairs
the House Financial Institutions and Licensing Committee as well as the
Tax Policy: Income Tax Subcommittee.
Croke said she supports a graduated income tax, which would require a
constitutional amendment to implement. Though the comptroller’s office
would play no formal role in passing such an amendment, and the last
time it was on the ballot in 2020, voters rejected it.
On her website, Croke said she will follow outgoing Comptroller Susanna
Mendoza’s lead in enforcing the Prevailing Wage Act, which requires
state contractors working on public works projects to demonstrate they
aren’t underpaying their workers. She will also allocate more resources
to the Comptroller’s Prevailing Wage Office and work with the Department
of Labor to ensure investigations are thorough and timely.
She was also endorsed by House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and the
Cook County Democratic Party.
She was the top fundraiser in the primary.
Trailing her was Villa, who has served in the General Assembly since
2019 and is regarded as the most progressive of the candidates. She was
the only candidate without a background in finance. Instead, she’s said
her social work career gives her the insight to understand what it means
to balance budgets with services people rely on.
Villa’s main focus is raising revenue for the state and suggested a
state tax on digital advertising as well as trying again to pass a
graduated income tax.
On her website, Villa says the comptroller’s office should “put our
money where our values are” and voiced support for attracting jobs and
investment in Illinois, ensuring contractors don’t have ties to
Immigration Customs and Enforcement, or ICE, and for the Prevailing Wage
Act, which requires state contractors working on public works projects
to demonstrate they aren’t underpaying their workers.
Villa was endorsed by Senate President Don Harmon, the Chicago Teachers
Union and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont. She
also had endorsements from U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez and outgoing U.S.
Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García.
Other candidates
Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim was the only candidate without
legislative experience, but she has been the treasurer for Lake County
since 2018, managing the money for the 3rd largest county in Illinois
with more than 700,000 residents. Kim was endorsed by outgoing
comptroller Susana Mendoza but was sitting third in the race as of
Tuesday evening with less than a quarter of the vote.
State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, has served in General Assembly
since 2013, and she touted her work with House Democrats on the Illinois
budget during the tenure of Gov. Bruce Rauner. A former Marine, Kifowit
raised the least money of the candidates in the final quarter of 2025
and appeared slated to garner less than 10% of the vote.
Secretary of State
Diane Harris of Joliet appeared poised to carry virtually of the state’s
counties outside of Cook and its collars as she won the race for
secretary of state on the GOP side. She’ll try to deny incumbent
Democrat Alexi Giannoulias a second term in the November general
election.
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State Rep. Margaret Croke, pictured on the House floor, held a lead
in the race to replace Susana Mendoza as comptroller on Tuesday
night. The Associated Press had not called the race as of 10 p.m.
(Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)
Her opponent was Walter Adamczyk, a GOP committeeman for Chicago’s 29th
Ward. He outpaced Harris in the city and surrounding suburbs. Like in
the race for the GOP governor nomination, which was won by downstate
farmer Darren Bailey, voters outside of the Chicago region appeared to
carry the day.
Harris has said her goal is to reduce fees for state stickers, vehicle
titles and other vehicle service fees. She also wants to advocate for
new rules of the road to better protect drivers and expand access to
fast-lane kiosks in areas where DMV offices have closed.
For more than 30 years, Harris worked at Commonwealth Edison. Harris
also served as an elected precinct committee member, vice chair of the
Joliet Township Republicans and is the former chair of the Illinois
Center Right Coalition. She has run for other offices before, including
state senate and Joliet mayor.
Adamczyk’s main focus was improving services for veterans and lowering
hurdles for honorably discharged vets by eliminating fees for licenses
and reducing wait-times at secretary of state facilities.
Treasurer
Max Solomon, who most recently ran for governor in 2024 among other
unsuccessful attempts for public office over the years, ran as a
write-in Republican candidate for Illinois Treasurer. That means his
name didn’t show up on the GOP ballot, but voters could write it down to
log their vote.
Solomon is running against incumbent Michael Frerichs, a Democrat who
was elected to the office in 2014.
To be the nominee, Solomon would have to get 5,000 votes. The results
likely won’t be known until tomorrow because the process for counting
write-in candidates takes longer than traditional candidates.
Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray said election judges keep an eye out for
write-ins as they count ballots after polls close. Write-ins are then
set aside to make sure they’re qualified. Qualified write-ins are
indicated on paperwork that then goes back to election authorities .
“Write-in candidates get reconfirmed internally by professional staff
and usually released the next morning or next day,” he said.
If Solomon doesn’t receive 5,000 votes, the Republican State Central
Committee can appoint someone to be the party’s general election nominee
if that candidate meets standard ballot access requirements, including
receiving 5,000 signatures.
Attorney general
Attorney General Kwame Raoul, the incumbent Democrat, is seeking a third
term as Illinois’ chief law enforcement officer. He and his GOP
challenger, Bob Fioretti, a former Chicago alderman who ran
unsuccessfully for Cook County state’s attorney in 2024, both ran
uncontested.
Fioretti is a civil rights attorney and former alderman on the Chicago
City Council. He switched to the Republican party “several years ago”
because he said it better represents his values.
He said he wants to overturn or change the Safety, Accountability,
Fairness and Equity-Today Act, or SAFE-T Act.
When it comes to the federal government, Fioretti has said he would
review state lawsuits against the Trump administration and withdraw from
suits that impede law enforcement, target law-abiding gun owners and
infringe on parental decision making.
Raoul was first elected AG in 2018. Before that, he served in the
Illinois Senate, appointed to fill the seat left by Barack Obama, who
was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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