SPRINGFIELD -- Monday marked the first day candidates hoping to run in the Feb. 2 primary could file to get a spot on the ballot.

State offices up for grabs in the 2010 election range from governor to state legislator.

Some of those who filed Monday with the Illinois State Board of Elections are familiar to most voters.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, for example, is hoping to get a full four-year term after ascending to the top spot when former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was booted out of office in January. Quinn's Democratic opponent is three-term state Comptroller Dan Hynes.

On the GOP side, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady is angling to improve upon his third-place finish in the 2006 GOP primary for governor.

The state senator from Bloomington hopes his name recognition will vault him past a crowded field expected to include the party's 2002 nominee, Jim Ryan, who said he would file by the Nov. 2 filing deadline.

Brady filed the maximum of 10,000 signatures needed to land a spot on the Feb. 2 ballot.

"Voters are looking for a clean break from the politics of the past, and I am ecstatic that volunteers in every part of Illinois put me on the ballot," Brady said.

Another familiar name filing Monday was Judy Baar Topinka, who is running for comptroller. The former state treasurer has been out of politics since losing her 2006 bid for governor. For now, her Republican primary opponent is Jim Dodge of Orland Park.

Others who filed Monday will be unfamiliar to many Illinois voters.

For example, Democrats seeking to replace Hynes as comptroller include Raja Krishnamoorthi of Hoffman Estates and state Rep. David Miller of Lynwood.

Donald Lowery, a Golconda Republican, filed to run for Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat.

Lowery, a former local judge, is among at least five Republicans seeking the seat, including U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk and John Arrington of Harvey.

The race for lieutenant governor also figures to be a lively one, with a number of Republicans and Democrats expected to file.

In the 18th Congressional District, Springfield Democrat Deirdre Hirner filed to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, a Peoria Republican.