Biography
Sarah Mertens is the Democratic candidate for the Illinois State Senate, District 35, in the November 3, 2026 general election, where she faces Republican incumbent Dave Syverson.[1][2] In a Ballotpedia survey, she described herself as a licensed educator in McHenry County.[3]
Sarah Mertens earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2011, and Ballotpedia lists her career experience as working as an educator.[2] She advanced unopposed from the Democratic primary on March 17, 2026, with 15,457 votes.[2]
In her survey responses, Mertens named workplace protections and collective bargaining, access to reproductive healthcare, and equal access to affordable housing, healthcare, public education and career paths as key messages.[3] She said she is passionate about education and healthcare and wants to ensure state tax dollars are accounted for.[3] She listed Equality Illinois, Citizen Action Illinois, Planned Parenthood, Gun Sense Voter and Congressman Bill Foster among her endorsers.[3]
- 1.Illinois State Senate elections, 2026 · Ballotpedia Reference
- 2.Sarah Mertens · Ballotpedia Reference
- 3.Sarah Mertens - Candidate Connection survey (2026) · Ballotpedia Candidate's own words
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.
Illinois Senate District 35
Sarah Mertens is on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot for Illinois Senate District 35 as D. Not researched in depth — candidate list only.
