2026 forecast · Illinois 16th

Darin LaHood is all but certain to win Illinois's 16th District.

Paul Nolley vs Darin LaHood. The model has LaHood ahead by 26.3 points, winning 100 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Safe RModel R +26.3Updated October 22, 2026
Paul Nolley
Democrat
36.9%
108,856 projected votes
Darin LaHood
Republican
63.1%
186,529 projected votes
100%LaHood
0%Nolley
LaHood all but certainEach square is one simulated election night, LaHood wins about 100 of 100
RatingSafe R100% chance for LaHood
Model marginR +26.3No polls in the race
80 percent rangeR +19.3 to R +33.12,000 simulations
Projected votes295,385LaHood 63.1%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

Illinois districts

17 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Paul NolleyDemocrat · 0% to win
36.9%
Darin LaHoodRepublican · 100% to win
63.1%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

295,385 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Darin LaHood R186,52963.1%
Paul Nolley D108,85636.9%
Total295,385100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%0% Nolley100% LaHood14 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

The Illinois governor polling average
30%35%40%45%50%55%60%MayJunJulAugSepOct54.0Pritzker34.0Bailey
The line is the On Point average: a robust LOWESS fit through the polls, weighted by recency, sample, voter screen and pollster grade, refit three times so outliers count for lessDot size is each poll's weight todayHover or use the arrow keys to read any day
What moves the average today
Public Policy Polling for Chicago News WeeklyOct 1 · 569 LV · D->99%Pritzker +20.0

This is the same On Point polling average as the full average page. The forecast reads the polls through its own Election Day projection, shown as the On Point average in the table below, and blends it with partisan lean and fundamentals.

Polls of the race

Full average
PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageNo polls

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
LaHood +26.3
Chance of winning
Paul Nolley0%
Darin LaHood100%
Simulated vote
Paul Nolley36.9%
Darin LaHood63.1%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +23.0
FundamentalsR +26.4
With pollsR +26.6
Early vote turnoutD +0.3
With early voteR +26.3

Read from 0 ballots cast so far in Illinois, against the party mix the forecast expected of them, with similar states and primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +32R +32Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +23.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesR +26.4With pollsno pollsR +26.6With early voteturnout so farR +26.3
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.