It appears as though the race for Illinois Governor will include at least four names, one of which being a local State Senator.
Monday marked the last day to file objections to nominating petitions to third-party and independent candidates. State Senator Sam McCann, who has entered the Illinois gubernatorial race as a candidate of the Conservative Party, as well as Libertarian candidate Kash Jackson, of Antioch, is likely to appear alongside the names of Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and Democratic challenger J.B. Pritzker in November’s election, as no objections were filed against either independent candidate.
McCann, along with running mate Aaron Merreighn of Riverton, claimed to have filed petitions with more than 65-thousand signatures, over double the 25-thousand signature requirement for independent candidates. Likewise, Jackson and fellow Libertarian Sanbjeev Mohip, a lieutenant governor candidate out of Skokie, said that their petitions included over 47-thousand signatures.
In gathering support for his run for governor, McCann obtained signatures and donations from an engineer union out of Illinois, and further donations from another engineer union out of Washington D.C. According to the State Journal Register, McCann’s campaign received $50,000 in April from the Local 150 chapter of the Operating Engineers Union out of Illinois. And in May, his campaign received another $100,000 from The International Union of Operating Engineers based in D.C.
The November ballot is expected to be certified by the Illinois State Board of Elections in August.