Democrats have held all six of Illinois’ constitutional offices since 2019 and have not lost a statewide race since 2014. The 2026 Republican candidates for secretary of state, attorney general and treasurer are running against incumbents Alexi Giannoulias, Kwame Raoul and Mike Frerichs, respectively. The treasurer’s race was especially unusual: no Republican filed petitions for the primary ballot, and Max Solomon secured the party’s nomination through a write-in campaign.

The candidates’ campaigns have sharply different financial resources. At the end of September, Giannoulias reported $19.1 million on hand, compared with $134 for Republican challenger Diane Harris. Frerichs had nearly $1.6 million as of Oct. 1, while Solomon reported $4,917. The figures highlight the challenge facing a GOP slate whose candidates, with the exception of its repeat gubernatorial nominee, have limited profiles in state politics.

Harris, a Will County Republican and Joliet Junior College board member, said she believes voters matter more than campaign spending. If elected, she would require drivers to take rules-of-the-road tests in English. Illinois currently offers the tests in English and several other languages, including Spanish, Chinese and Polish.

Harris also said she would work to improve business licensing and maintain some of Giannoulias’ initiatives, including online appointments at driver services facilities. Giannoulias has highlighted appointment scheduling, online services and fast-pass kiosks as efforts to reduce wait times. He also pointed to legislation passed during his first term to authorize digital IDs and driver’s licenses and regulate e-bikes and e-scooters.

Giannoulias is seeking reelection while also running for Chicago mayor in the city’s February nonpartisan election. His mayoral campaign began with $22 million in its account and has spent at least $5 million on advertising in the Chicago market. He defended pursuing both offices, saying he remains focused on the secretary of state job and that his record should reassure voters. He said he would continue modernization work in a second term and suggested the state could soon announce a new license plate design.

The secretary of state also oversees rules for license plate reader companies. Giannoulias said he may seek to ensure the companies comply with state laws restricting the use of data to track immigrants without legal permission or people seeking abortion care.

In the attorney general’s race, Raoul is seeking a third term after years of legal disputes with the Trump administration. His office says it has taken part in roughly 90 cases over the past two years and that litigation helped Illinois retain access to more than $8 billion in federal funding that otherwise might have been cut. Raoul has also said he wants to retain attorneys and expand office resources after lawmakers reduced its budget by $10 million this year.

Republican Bob Fioretti, an attorney and former Chicago alderman, criticized Raoul’s involvement in the cases and said the attorney general should give greater attention to violent crime and corruption. Fioretti said he agreed with only three of Raoul’s lawsuits against the federal government but did not identify them. He also pledged to push county prosecutors to pursue violent-crime cases more aggressively.

Raoul said corruption enforcement has been a priority during his eight years in office, while noting that some investigations cannot be discussed publicly. He said federal prosecutors often lead major public-corruption cases because they have greater investigative resources and jurisdiction.

The treasurer’s contest pits Frerichs, first elected in 2014, against Solomon, a south suburban attorney who shifted from a long-shot gubernatorial campaign. Solomon received more than 60,000 write-in votes in the March primary to qualify for the November ballot.

Frerichs has emphasized the office’s work returning unclaimed property to residents and businesses, managing state investments and overseeing the Bright Start college savings program. He said the state’s investment portfolio generated more than $1.4 billion in earnings in fiscal 2026 and argued that investment earnings can reduce pressure on local governments to raise property taxes.

Frerichs also defended the office’s investments in Israeli companies and government bonds, saying they meet his standards for returns, safety and diversification and that changing the policy is a matter for lawmakers. Solomon said he would favor Illinois-focused investments and reduce politically motivated decisions, though he did not identify a specific investment decision by Frerichs that he considered political.

The candidates’ differences reflect broader questions about state services, the reach of Illinois’ legal challenges to federal policy and how public funds should be invested. With Democrats holding every statewide constitutional office and the challengers operating with considerably smaller campaign accounts, Republicans say their case rests on persuading voters that the state needs greater political balance.