A Green Party candidate aiming to run for Congress in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District this November did not qualify for the ballot, according to a ruling from the Illinois State Board of Elections on Friday.
Chibu Asonye of Urbana did not gather enough signatures to appear before voters in the election for the congressional district that stretches from the Metro East to Springfield and Urbana-Champaign.
Asonye gathered 1,557 signatures, according to the state’s top election authority. However, 12,710 is needed under state law.
The Green Party hopeful would have needed a far greater number of signatures than her Democratic and Republican counterparts. U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski of Springfield needed 727 signatures to qualify, and Republican challenger Joshua Loyd of Virden needed 567 signatures, the News-Gazette reported earlier this summer.
Candidates from the two major parties need signatures from 0.5% of qualified primary voters from their party in the congressional district. For parties not on the ballot for the last election, candidates must collect signatures from 5% of all general election voters, according to state law.
The Friday decision follows a recommendation from the board’s hearing officer, which its general counsel confirmed.
A Springfield resident initially made the objection to the state board in July. Carolyn Kopel, a frequent contributor to the Democratic Party, has donated $6,600 to Budzinski’s campaign in the past two years, the News-Gazette reported.
Asonye’s campaign said in a statement that she was unsurprised by the board’s decision and has filed the necessary paperwork to be a write-in candidate.
“As our team anticipated, Illinois Democrat-affiliated operatives successfully removed Chibu’s name from the General Election ballot,” her campaign said. “They are dismissing the voices of every Illinoian who saw themselves in Chibu.”
Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly redrew congressional districts in 2021 to gain a U.S. House seat. In 2022, Cook Political Report projected Democrats would have a 3-point advantage in the 13th District. But Budzinski cruised to victory, winning her seat by 13 percentage points.
In a close election, a Green Party candidate attacking the incumbent Democrat from the left could have siphoned off some of the most liberal voters. With Asonye officially off the ballot, the race is set between just Budzinski and Loyd for the Nov. 5 general election.
