For the first time in nearly a quarter of century, Illinois will elect a new secretary of state this November after Jesse White announced he would not seek a seventh term in office.
White, who replaced former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, had endorsed Cook County Clerk Anna Valencia in the primary, but she was defeated by Democratic rival Alexi Giannoulias in the race.
State Rep. Dan Brady ultimately won the Republican nomination in June.
Here are the three candidates that will be on your ballot this November.
Dan Brady (Republican)
Brady is a long-time state representative for Illinois’ 88th district, located in the central portion of the state in an area centered between Normal on the west end, Decatur on the south end and Champaign on the east end.
Brady is part of the House Republican leadership team, being named the deputy leader in 2017. He serves on the higher education, insurance and elections committees, among others.
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Parts of Brady’s campaign platform include increased ease of registration for the Organ and Donor Tissue Registry, which would allow Illinois residents 16 and older to sign up. Brady has also pledged to continue to utilize technology to increase access to DMV services, and creating mobile services for older Illinoisans to better serve those populations.
Finally, Brady has pledged to prioritize driver’s education for young Illinoisans seeking their driver’s licenses for the first time.
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You can read more about Brady’s platform on his campaign website.
Alexi Giannoulias (Democrat)
Giannoulias previously served as Illinois’ treasurer before a failed bid to win a Senate seat, losing to former Republican Sen. Mark Kirk by less than 60,000 votes in the 2010 election.
More recently, Giannoulias has worked in the private financial sector at BNY Mellon Wealth Management, and he was also appointed to the Chicago Public Library Board.
Giannoulias’ platform is focused on a variety of issues, including strengthening voting rights in the state of Illinois, further modernizing the secretary of state’s office, and crafting tougher ethics laws to hold lawmakers accountable.
Giannoulias also included a plank in his platform to use the office to combat climate change, and to crack down on scams, as he points out that the secretary of state’s office regulates investments in Illinois.
You can read more about Giannoulias’ platform on his campaign website.
Jon Stewart (Libertarian)
Stewart has appeared on ballots in Illinois before, running for state representative in 1997 and for Congress in 1999 and 2009, according to Ballotpedia.
He also unsuccessfully ran for the Libertarian nomination for governor in 2018.
According to his campaign bio, Stewart is a former professional wrestler, and now runs his family’s car dealership in Deerfield.
Stewart does not have a campaign website, but does have a campaign YouTube page, which you can find here.
