Jim Oberweis
Jim Oberweis (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 19th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Oberweis (Republican Party) was a member of the Illinois State Senate, representing District 25. He assumed office in 2013. He left office on January 13, 2021.
Oberweis decided to run for Senate in the 2014 general election against Richard Durbin. He was defeated by incumbent Richard Durbin (D) in the general election on November 4, 2014.[1] He defeated Doug Truax in the Republican primary on March 18, 2014.[2]
Previously, Oberweis was a Republican candidate in Illinois for the U.S. Senate in 2002 and 2004, for governor in 2006, and for the 14th Congressional District in both a special and regularly-scheduled election in 2008.
Elections
2026
See also: Florida's 19th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for U.S. House Florida District 19
Howard Sapp and Jim Oberweis are running in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 19 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Howard Sapp (D) | ||
| Jim Oberweis (R) | ||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Byron Donalds (R)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2020
See also: Illinois' 14th Congressional District election, 2020
Illinois' 14th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 17 Republican primary)
Illinois' 14th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 17 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Illinois District 14
Incumbent Lauren Underwood defeated Jim Oberweis and Joseph Monack in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 14 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Lauren Underwood (D) | 50.7 | 203,209 | |
| Jim Oberweis (R) | 49.3 | 197,835 | ||
| Joseph Monack (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 8 | ||
| Total votes: 401,052 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 14
Incumbent Lauren Underwood advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 14 on March 17, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Lauren Underwood | 100.0 | 77,707 | |
| Total votes: 77,707 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 14
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 14 on March 17, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jim Oberweis | 25.6 | 13,333 | |
| Sue Rezin | 22.8 | 11,879 | ||
| Catalina Lauf | 20.1 | 10,451 | ||
| Ted Gradel | 13.4 | 6,979 | ||
| James Marter | 11.0 | 5,724 | ||
| Jerry Evans | 5.0 | 2,609 | ||
| Anthony Catella | 2.1 | 1,118 | ||
| Total votes: 52,093 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Danny Malouf (R)
- Matt Quigley (R)
2016
- See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Illinois State Senate were held in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was November 30, 2015.[3]
Incumbent Jim Oberweis defeated Corinne Pierog in the Illinois State Senate District 25 general election.[4][5]
| Illinois State Senate, District 25 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Jim Oberweis Incumbent |
54.66% | 54,636 | |
| Democratic | Corinne Pierog | 45.34% | 45,317 | |
| Total Votes | 99,953 | |||
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections | ||||
Corinne Pierog ran unopposed in the Illinois State Senate District 25 Democratic primary.[6][7]
| Illinois State Senate, District 25 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Corinne Pierog (unopposed) | |
Incumbent Jim Oberweis ran unopposed in the Illinois State Senate District 25 Republican primary.[8][9]
| Illinois State Senate, District 25 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Jim Oberweis Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
| Oberweis' November 22, 2013, U.S. Senate announcement |
Oberweis was a 2014 Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Illinois.[10] He defeated Doug Truax in the Republican primary on March 18, 2014.[2] The general election takes place on November 4, 2014.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Richard Durbin Incumbent |
53.5% | 1,929,637 | |
| Republican | Jim Oberweis | 42.7% | 1,538,522 | |
| Libertarian | Sharon Hansen | 3.8% | 135,316 | |
| Total Votes | 3,603,475 | |||
| Source: Illinois Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
Oberweis officially announced his candidacy in a video detailing his history as a candidate on November 22, 2013.[10]
“Some people are going to want to talk about my mistakes as a candidate over the last 10 years,” Oberweis says to the camera. “I made statements and commercials that I regretted and I’ve said so.”[10]
“I believe I understand what motivates entrepreneurs and businessmen,” Oberweis said of his candidacy. “My opponent, Mr. Durbin, is a career politician who’s been in Washington for 31 years, that’s just way too long. I made a decision about 30 days ago to go forward and circulate petitions … But clearly, Obamacare is a symptom of the mess we have going on in Washington D.C.”[10]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Jim Oberweis |
56.1% | 423,097 | ||
| Doug Truax | 43.9% | 331,237 | ||
| Sherry Procarione (Write-in) | 0% | 54 | ||
| Total Votes | 754,388 | |||
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections |
||||
2012
- See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2012
Oberweis won election in the 2012 election for Illinois State Senate District 25. Oberweis defeated Dave Richmond and Richard Slocum in the March 20 Republican primary and defeated Corinne Pierog (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Chris Lauzen (R) did not run for re-election in District 25.[11][12][13]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Oberweis |
57.5% | 51,527 | |
| Democratic | Corinne Pierog | 42.5% | 38,061 | |
| Total Votes | 89,588 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Jim Oberweis |
49.3% | 10,871 |
| Dave Richmond | 30.1% | 6,629 |
| Richard Slocum | 20.6% | 4,532 |
| Total Votes | 22,032 | |
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jim Oberweis has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Jim Oberweis, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?
Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 21,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.
Help improve Ballotpedia - send us candidate contact info.
2020
Jim Oberweis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Oberweis' campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
|
” |
| —Jim Oberweis' campaign website (2020)[15] | ||
2012
On his campaign website, Oberweis detailed three main issues:[16]
- Term Limits:
- Excerpt: "In order to return to our Founding Fathers’ original notion of a citizen legislature, I support term limits for all members of the Illinois General Assembly. I believe individual state Representatives should be limited to serving a maximum of four two-year terms, and I believe individual state Senators should be limited to serving two four-year terms."
- Taxes and Spending:
- Excerpt: "Massive overspending and over-borrowing by the state government isn’t important just because it fuels higher taxes, it’s important because it crowds out private investment and makes it difficult for job creators to do their thing."
- More and Better Jobs:
- Excerpt: "We must reform our tax code; repeal the job-killing tax hikes on personal and corporate income, death taxes, and business losses enacted by the lame duck legislature; reform our workmen’s compensation system to bring it in line with our neighboring states; and continue to reform our tort laws if we want businesses once again to invest capital to grow jobs in Illinois."
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Oberweis was assigned to the following committees:
- Commerce and Economic Development Committee
- Committee of the Whole
- Senate Executive Committee
- Revenue Committee
- Labor Committee
- Environment and Conservation Committee
- Transportation Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Appropriations II |
| • Committee of the Whole |
| • Environment and Conservation |
| • Human Services |
| • Labor |
| • State Government |
| • Transportation |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Oberweis served on the following committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Appropriations II |
| • Labor |
| • Local Government |
| • State Government & Veterans Affairs |
| • Transportation |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Oberweis served on the following committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Appropriations I |
| • Committee of the Whole |
| • Environment |
| • Labor and Commerce |
| • Local Government |
| • Public Health |
| • Legislative Audit Commission |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Illinois scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2020
In 2020, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 8 to May 23.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills that "help or hinder Illinois citizens with developmental disabilities access more included lives in their homes and communities."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2019, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 9 through December 31.
|
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2018, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 8 through May 31.
|
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2017, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 11 through May 31. There were also special sessions. The 1st special session was June 21-July 6. The 2nd special session was July 26-July 31. During the 3rd special session, the Senate met on August 13, and the House met on August 16. The 4th special session was on August 28-29. There was a veto session from October 24-November 9.
|
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 13 through May 31.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 14 through December 7 (extended session).
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 29 through June 2.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 9 through May 31.
|
Noteworthy events
Wife votes in Florida
When asked in November 2013 about his wife voting from Florida, Oberweis answered that his wife lives there six months out of the year.[10]
“Why is she registered in Florida? Maybe you want to ask her. She’s a grown woman, she makes her own decisions but I think the key is before I was elected to the state Senate, we started spending a lot of time in Florida. I went back and forth quite often, she stayed in Florida,” Oberweis said. “I’ve been in the state Senate every day the Senate has been in session.”[10]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Oberweis and his wife, Julie, have five children.[19]
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "Senate Election Results," accessed November 12, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Associated Press, "March 18, 2014, Primary Results," accessed March 18, 2014
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election and Campaign Finance Calendar," accessed November 30, 2015
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate list: General Election - 11/8/2016," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election results, General election 2016," accessed December 15, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate Filing Search," accessed January 3, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election Results: GENERAL PRIMARY - 3/15/2016," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate Filing Search," accessed January 3, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election Results: GENERAL PRIMARY - 3/15/2016," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedrun - ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate List," accessed December 5, 2011
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed May 14, 2014
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, “Official Vote - November 6, 2012 General Election,” accessed December 31, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Jim Oberweis' campaign website, “Issues,” accessed March 6, 2020
- ↑ Jim Oberweis for State Senate, "Solutions," accessed January 4, 2011
- ↑ Citizen Action Illinois, "99th General Assembly Legislative Scorecard 2016," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ Illinois Parents of Adults with Developmental Disabilities, "2016 Illinois Community Living Report," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbio
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Chris Lauzen (R) |
Illinois Senate District 23 2013–2021 |
Succeeded by Karina Villa (D) |
