2026 forecast · Illinois 17th

Eric Sorensen is all but certain to win Illinois's 17th District.

Eric Sorensen vs Dillan Vancil. The model has Sorensen ahead by 14.8 points, winning 99 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Safe DModel D +14.8Updated October 22, 2026
Eric Sorensen
Democrat
57.4%
159,908 projected votes
Dillan Vancil
Republican
42.6%
118,698 projected votes
99%Sorensen
1%Vancil
Sorensen all but certainEach square is one simulated election night, Sorensen wins about 99 of 100
RatingSafe D99% chance for Sorensen
Model marginD +14.8No polls in the race
80 percent rangeD +22.4 to D +7.02,000 simulations
Projected votes278,606Sorensen 57.4%

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

Eric SorensenDemocrat · 99% to win
57.4%
Dillan VancilRepublican · 1% to win
42.6%

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

278,606 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Eric Sorensen D159,90857.4%
Dillan Vancil R118,69842.6%
Total278,606100%

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%99% Sorensen1% Vancil14 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
Sorensen +14.8
Chance of winning
Eric Sorensen99%
Dillan Vancil1%
Simulated vote
Eric Sorensen57.4%
Dillan Vancil42.6%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanR +5.0
FundamentalsD +14.6
With pollsD +14.4
Early vote turnoutD +0.4
With early voteD +14.8

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 +18R +18Partisan leanthe state's baselineR +5.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesD +14.6With pollsno pollsD +14.4With early voteturnout so farD +14.8
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.