2015 Illinois's 18th congressional district special election

The special election for Illinois's 18th congressional district was held on September 10, 2015, between Republican Darin LaHood and Democrat Rob Mellon to fill the remainder of the term of Republican Aaron Schock, who resigned on March 31, 2015. LaHood won the election with almost 69% of the vote.

2015 Illinois's 18th congressional district special election
September 10, 2015
Illinois's 18th congressional district
 
Candidate Darin LaHood Rob Mellon
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 35,329 15,979
Percentage 68.8% 31.1%
County results
LaHood:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
U.S. Representative before election

Aaron Schock
Republican

 Elected U.S. Representative

Darin LaHood
Republican

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History

Schock announced on March 17, 2015, that he would resign on March 31, 2015, following allegations of improper spending of political campaign funds and an impending ethics investigation.[1]

According to Illinois state law, Governor Bruce Rauner must call the special election within five days after Schock's resignation becoming official, and it must be held within 115 days of the call. This would mean that the latest possible day for the election under Illinois law would have been July 29, 2015.[2] However, in order to comply with the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), the general election was set for September 10, 2015, with party primaries to be held on July 7.[3]

In April 2015, the Marshall County and McLean County governments requested that Schock or his campaign fund reimburse the counties for the special election costs, and two other counties are considering similar action.[4] Stark County declined to request reimbursement, as it still had $12,000 left over from the April consolidated election and Schock had not been convicted of a crime.[5]

Republican primary

Declared

Withdrawn
  • Mark Zalcman, attorney.[12] Zalcman stated that he was forced to withdraw because a limited time to file petitions was "done purposely by the Governor to insure that Darin LaHood would not have to face any grassroots opposition in the campaign," and that he would focus on the regular March 2016 primary.[13] Zalcman did not file for the seat in 2016.

Declined

Endorsements
Darin LaHood

Incumbent and prior state elected officials

Incumbent and prior members of the U.S. House of Representatives

Incumbent Illinois legislative officials

Other people

Organizations

Newspapers

Mike Flynn

Results
Republican primary results[26][27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Darin LaHood 31,635 69.5
Republican Mike Flynn 12,593 27.7
Republican Donald Rients 1,246 2.7
Republican Robin Miller 16 >0.0
Total votes 45,490 100

Democratic primary

Declared

Declined

Results
Democratic primary results[26][35]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Rob Mellon 4,613 60.5
Democratic Adam Lopez 3,008 39.5
Total votes 7,621 100

General election

Predictions
Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[36] Solid R April 3, 2015
Inside Elections[37] Solid R March 24, 2015

Finance Reports
Campaign Finance Reports through August 21
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on Hand Debt
Darin LaHood $1,225,929 $906,379 $639,101 $0
Rob Mellon $10,769 $9,503 $1,265 $0
Source: OpenSecrets[38]

Results
Illinois's 18th congressional district special election, 2015[39][40]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Darin LaHood 35,329 68.8
Democratic Rob Mellon 15,979 31.1
Write-In Constant "Conner" Vlakancic 7 >0.0
Write-In Roger K. Davis 4 >0.0
Total votes 51,319 100
Republican hold

See also

References
  1. Jake Sherman; Anna Palmer; John Bresnahan (March 17, 2015). "Aaron Schock resigns after new questions about mileage expenses". Politico. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  2. Cahn, Emily (March 17, 2015). "Schock Resignation Will Trigger Special Election in Illinois". Roll Call. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  3. Garcia, Monique (April 14, 2015). "Judge sets special election dates for Schock seat in Congress". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  4. Ford, Mary Ann (April 15, 2015). "Counties want Schock, state to help cut election costs". Pantagraph.com. Bloomington, Illinois. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  5. Smith, Gary L. (April 16, 2015). "Stark County Board will not seek payment from Aaron Schock". PJStar.com. Peoria, Illinois: GateHouse Media. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  6. Weigel, David (March 19, 2015). "The Conservative Media Warrior Who May Run for Aaron Schock's Seat". Bloomberg News. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  7. Fund, John (April 17, 2015). "The Establishment and the Tea Party Face Off in Illinois". National Review. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  8. Erickson, Kurt (March 18, 2015). "LaHood in; Brady, Barickman out for Congressional seat". The Pantagraph. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  9. Dewey, Jim (March 31, 2015). "Darin LaHood Announces Candidacy". Quincy Journal. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  10. Erickson, Kurt (April 6, 2015). "Ed Brady not running for Schock seat". The Pantagraph. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  11. Lester, Kerry (April 20, 2015). "GOP's Darin LaHood Favored in Race to Replace Schock". Pantagraph.com (by the Associated Press). Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  12. Kaergard, Chris (March 9, 2015). "Bloomington attorney plans GOP primary challenge to embattled Schock". The State Journal-Register. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  13. "Republican Mark Zalcman withdraws from special election". KHQA-TV. April 13, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  14. Erickson, Kurt (March 31, 2015). "Dan Brady not running for Schock seat". Quad-City Times. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  15. Olson, Greg (March 18, 2015). "Schock steps down". Journal-Courier. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  16. "Gray v. State Officers Electoral Board (2015 IL App (4th) 140273-U" (PDF). 4th District Appellate Court of Illinois. January 23, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  17. Schoenburg, Bernard (December 12, 2013). "Tough words in judge race objection (Opinion)". The Courier (online ed.). Lincoln, Illinois: Gatehouse Media. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  18. Lainie Steelman (March 24, 2015). "Congressional hopefuls talk race after Schock news". The McDonough County Voice. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  19. Nathan L. Gonzales (March 23, 2015). "Schilling Considering Special Election for Schock Seat". Roll Call. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  20. Hensch, Mark (March 28, 2015). "Ex-Rep. Bobby Schilling won't run for Schock's seat". The Hill. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  21. Vlahos, Nick (March 17, 2015). "Possible candidates consider running to replace Schock". Journal Star. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  22. "Tracy will not seek nomination for 18th Congressional District". WGEM-TV. March 30, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  23. Kaergard, Chris (March 20, 2015). "Mike Unes won't run for Aaron Schock's House seat". Journal Star. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  24. "Endorsements of Darin". LaHood for Congress. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  25. "Flynn for Congress: Endorsements". Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  26. "Election Results – Special Primary - 7/7/2015". elections.il.gov. Archived from the original on May 9, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  27. Kaergard, Chris (July 7, 2015). "Darin LaHood easily wins GOP nomination for 18th District seat". Journal Star. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  28. Schoenburg, Bernard (April 8, 2015). "Springfield Democrat eyes run for Aaron Schock's congressional seat". Journal Star. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  29. "Board Members". Springfield, Illinois: Springfield Public Schools District 186. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  30. "Darin LaHood kicks off special election campaign". CINewsNow. March 30, 2015. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  31. Green, Ross (April 17, 2015). "Mellon aims to strengthen middle class in Illinois". ConnectTriStates.com. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  32. Cahn, Emily (March 18, 2015). "Familiar Name Launches Bid to Succeed Aaron Schock (Updated)". Roll Call. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  33. "Candidate Detail: General Election - 11/4/2014: 92nd Representative: Jehan Gordon-Booth". Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  34. Hobe, Marty (April 3, 2015). "Politics as Usual: Sullivan opts out of Congressional bid". The Register-Mail (online ed.). Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  35. "Rob Mellon, Darin LaHood win 18th District primary election". WEEK-TV. July 8, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  36. Dave Wasserman (April 3, 2015). "House Special Election Updates: IL-18, MS-01 and NY-11". Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  37. "Schilling Considering Special Election for Schock Seat". The Rothenberg Political Report. March 24, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  38. Open Secrets | Elections | U.S. Senate opensecrets.org
  39. "Election Results – Special General Election - 9/10/2015". elections.il.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  40. Kaergard, Chris (September 10, 2015). "State Sen. Darin LaHood wins special election to replace Aaron Schock". Journal Star. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
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