Races › State House

State Representative District 97

March 17, 2026 primary: each party's primary · the general

The district

112,908people

$142,652median household incomeIllinois: $83,390

$370,300median home valueIllinois: $263,300

91%of homes lived in by their ownerIllinois: 67%

46%of adults with a bachelor's degree or moreIllinois: 38%

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020–2024), on the district lines in use since 2022.

Candidate	Votes	Raised	Their own	Spent	Cash on hand	Large since last report
Democratic primary
Harry Benton Dincumbent✓ nominee	7,531 100%	$145,194	—	$79,335	$299,282	—
Republican primary
Gabriella Shanahan R✓ nominee	3,857 100%	$406,875	—	$109,470	$47,498	$160,569

Raised: itemized contributions to the candidate's committees since January 1, 2025. Their own: contributions and loans in the candidate's name. Cash on hand: at the end of the committees' latest quarterly report (June 30, 2026). Large since last report: $1,000-plus contributions reported on A-1s since that report (included in Raised).

Votes: official totals from the State Board of Elections; the share is of the votes cast in that party's primary.

Donors to more than one candidate here

1 donor gave to two or more of this race's candidates (all their contributions to each since January 1, 2025).

Donor	Gave to	In this race
Manufacturers PAC Group or PAC · Springfield	Harry Benton $500 · Gabriella Shanahan $2,500	$3,000