The Illinois House District 118 general election is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026. Republican incumbents Paul Jacobs and Scott Doody are the two candidates in the contested race.
That creates a general-election matchup in which the choice is between candidates carrying the same party label. The contest is for the District 118 seat in the Illinois House of Representatives.
Who is running
Paul Jacobs is running as a Republican and is identified as an incumbent. He is one of the two candidates seeking the Illinois House District 118 seat in the 2026 general election.
Scott Doody is also running as a Republican and is identified as an incumbent. He is the other candidate seeking the Illinois House District 118 seat in the 2026 general election.
The candidate list therefore presents voters with two incumbents rather than a contest between an incumbent and a challenger. It also presents two Republicans rather than nominees with different party labels. Neither candidate has a documented policy position in this race.
What is contested
The District 118 race is contested because more than one candidate is running for the seat. Jacobs and Doody are competing against each other in the general election even though both are identified as Republicans.
For voters, the central choice is between the two candidates themselves. A party label will not distinguish one from the other because each is running under the Republican label. The race information also identifies each candidate as an incumbent, giving both the same listed officeholder status.
The contest does not include a documented difference over a specific policy issue. That means the established points of comparison are limited to the candidates’ names, their shared Republican affiliation and their shared incumbent designation. Any policy differences would need to be established through positions the candidates set out during the campaign.
Election date and voter decision
The election is the Illinois 2026 general election, set for Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. The District 118 contest will ask voters to select between Jacobs and Doody for the state House seat.
Because the candidates have the same party affiliation and the same listed incumbent status, the campaign may give voters additional ways to compare them before Election Day. Those could include policy statements, public appearances and other campaign communications, but no position can be attributed to either candidate unless that candidate states it.
The basic structure of the race is already defined: one state House district, two Republican candidates and one general-election date. The key process questions now concern how the ballot is finalized and whether the candidates publish positions that create clear distinctions for District 118 voters.
What voters should verify
As the election approaches, voters can check the finalized ballot for District 118 and review direct statements from each campaign. They can also confirm Election Day and voting information through Illinois election authorities.
The choice remains between Paul Jacobs and Scott Doody. Both enter the listed general-election contest as Republican incumbents, and neither has a documented policy platform attached to the race at this stage.
