BELLEVILLE — People who want to run as a Democrat or Republican in the November 2020 elections had until the end of the day Monday to file their paperwork with the Illinois State Board of Elections.

The filing deadline is for seats in the Illinois General Assembly and Congress and only applies to people who want to represent one of the two leading parties. Independent and third-party candidates have until June 22, 2020, to file their paperwork.

Here is a preview of some of the region’s more competitive races:

13th and 15th congressional seats

Two congressional races in the region may be the most interesting to watch in the 2020 election cycle.

There is no incumbent running for Illinois’ 15th congressional seat; Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, decided he wasn’t going to run for another term. In his absence, seven candidates are running for the open seat: three Republican and four Democratic.

“There is a real value to incumbency,” said state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Belleville. “Him stepping down leaves a void the Democrats have a chance to pick up.”

But flipping the seat from red to blue won’t be trivial since the district has been a consistent Republican stronghold, said Kenneth Moffett, a political science professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Shimkus held the seat, which includes Collinsville but mostly covers southeastern Illinois to the Kentucky and Indiana borders, since 1996.

Without Shimkus running, Moffett said, the Republican March primary is important to watch because the winner of it will likely win the general election in November.

“It seems somewhat wide open at this point,” he said.

The 13th congressional district will likely be a rematch of the 2018 race, Moffett said. Betsy Dirksen Londrigan will square off against incumbent U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, again if she wins her primary against Stefanie Smith.

The race in 2018 was close. Davis beat Londrigan by 3.6 percentage points in a district that leaned Republican by 7.7 points, according to the politics blog FiveThirtyEight.

“That was one of the closest races in the country,” said Hoffman, who is running to keep his seat. “At the beginning of the campaign, many people didn’t think she had a shot.”

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As of the deadline, no one had filed paperwork indicating they would challenge Hoffman, but there is still time for an independent or third-party candidate to do so.

In 2020, the presidential election could tip the scales in Londrigan’s favor, Hoffman said. He said he sees the many colleges and universities inside the 13th district playing a large role in the election outcome. The district includes parts of Edwardsville and Glen Carbon and extends north to also encompass Springfield, Decatur, Champaign and Bloomington.

Here is a list of candidates who have filed paperwork to run in U.S. Senate or House races and Illinois State Senate and House races ahead of the Monday deadline:

U.S. Senate

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield (incumbent)

Peggy Hubbard, R-Belleville

Thomas Tarter, R-Springfield

Mark Curran, R-Libertyville

Casey Chlebek, R-Glenview

Marshall Robert, R-Burr Ridge

12th Congressional District

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro (incumbent)

Joel D. Funk, D-Mascoutah

Raymond C. Lenzi, D-Makanda

13th Congressional District

Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville (incumbent)

Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, D-Springfield

Stefanie Smith, D-Urbana

15th Congressional District

Kevin Gaither, D-Charleston

Erika Weaver, D-Mattoon

Craig Morton, D-Salem

John W. Hursey Jr., D-Collinsville

Mary Miller, R-Oakland

Kerry Wolff, R-Altamont

Darren Duncan, R-Rossville

Kent Gary, R-Leland Grove

Chuck Ellington, R-Camargo

Kimberly Wade, R-Grafton

State Senate District 58

State Rep. Terri Bryant, R-Murphsyboro

State House District 108

Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville (incumbent)

Kacie Weicherding, D-Hoyleton

State House District 111

State Rep. Monica Bristow, D-Godfrey (incumbent)

Amy Elik, R-Alton

State House District 112

Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville (incumbent)

State House District 113

Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Belleville (incumbent)

State House District 114

State Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis (incumbent)

Dave Barnes, R-Belleville

State House District 116

Rep. Nathan Reitz, D-Steeleville (incumbent)

David Friess, R-Red Bud

Kevin Schmidt, R-Millstadt

David Holder, R-Baldwin

This story will be updated to reflect any last-minute filings. You can see the candidates from around the state online.

Eric Schmid covers the Metro East for St. Louis Public Radio as part of the journalism grant program Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. Follow Eric on Twitter: @EricDSchmid

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