SPRINGFIELD – More Republicans are entering races for statewide office after an initially slow start in announcing candidates for the 2026 election.

Illinois Republicans held their annual events around the Illinois State Fair on Thursday, with former Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy launching a U.S. Senate campaign and Ted Dabrowski, the president of conservative research group Wirepoints, announcing he will launch a campaign for governor in the coming weeks.

The men enter the 2026 race a week after the window opened for candidates to begin collecting signatures that are due to the State Board of Elections at the end of October.

“For 15 years I've been working on reporting on Illinois, on these problems, suggesting a lot of solutions, and what I've seen is the state continue to go downhill,

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