September 10, 2015 2016 → 68.8% 31.1% | 35,329 15,979 | |
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U.S. Representative before election
Vacant
Republican Elected U.S. Representative
Darin LaHood
Republican | ||
The special election for Illinois's 18th congressional district was held on September 10, 2015 between Republican Darin LaHood and Democrat Rob Mellon to fill the remainder of the term of Republican Aaron Schock, who resigned on March 31, 2015. LaHood won the election with almost 69% of the vote.
Contents
History
Schock announced on March 17, 2015, that he would resign on March 31, 2015, following allegations of improper spending of political campaign funds and an impending ethics investigation.
According to Illinois state law, Governor Bruce Rauner must call the special election within five days after Schock's resignation becoming official, and it must be held within 115 days of the call. This would mean that the latest possible day for the election under Illinois law would have been July 29, 2015. However, in order to comply with the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), the general election was set for September 10, 2015, with party primaries to be held on July 7.
In April 2015, the Marshall County and McLean County governments requested that Schock or his campaign fund reimburse the counties for the special election costs, and two other counties are considering similar action. Stark County declined to request reimbursement, as it still had $12,000 left over from the April consolidated election and Schock had not been convicted of a crime.