Madison County Republicans win big, defeating Democrats in nearly every contested race
Republicans and Democrats in Madison County can agree on one thing: the Trump effect was real Tuesday night as election results were tallied.
Madison County Republicans took firm control of the county board, most county elected offices and two judicial seats, as voters handily favored GOP candidates over Democrats, while voting to reelect President Donald Trump by a wide margin,, according to unofficial returns.
Out of 14 available seats and offices, Madison County Democrats won only two contested races, handing Republicans the county board chair for another term, three elected offices and three county board seats previously held by Democrats.
Now the new board will have a bigger Republican majority at 18-11, with Chairman Kurt Prenzler’s leadership.
“We anticipated some good results but we were pleasantly surprised in some cases, particularly with our county board races,” said former County Republican Party Chairman Jeremy Plank.
Plan said voters in Madison County were excited by the prospect of voting for Trump and other Republican candidates.
Indeed, it was a better-than-expected evening for Republicans, Plank said, particularly due to flipping two county board seats held by Democrats in Granite City and another in Collinsville that weren’t previously seen as vulnerable.
Voters handed Democrats, on the other hand, a “butt-kicking” Tuesday night, as Madison County Democratic Party Chairman Randy Harris described it. Harris said it was clear by the time all precincts were reporting that Trump was “very popular” in Madison County and that Democrats needed to head back to the drawing board.
In total, county Democrats lost three county board seats, the offices of county auditor, state’s attorney and circuit clerk and two Third Judicial Circuit judge races.
“It was a very rough night,” Harris said.” It’s clear the national Trump headwinds are here.”
He said he wasn’t surprised to see the county go further to the right, but he was surprised to see the victory margin in Madison County for Trump and local Republican candidates.
Madison County’s current Republican Chair Ray Wesley, who is a member of the Madison County Board, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Is Madison County getting more conservative?
Tuesday’s red wave is the second time since 2016 that Republicans have clocked a decisive victory in the county.
In 2016, Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler was elected, and the county helped elect Trump. Prenzler toppled long-serving board chairman Alan Dunstan during the 2016 election, signaling a shift in the political landscape in Madison County.
Harris admits Tuesday was a tough night for Democrats, but he isn’t ready to say that Madison County is becoming more conservative.
More pressing, he said, is that county Democrats are being tied to “extremists” on the far left, which he said isn’t grounded in reality.
“We have to do a better job as Democrats to get the point across that we are the party of working-class,” Harris said.
He said that a lapse in concentration on winning the three now-flipped Democratic county board seats led to surprising upsets Tuesday night. However, Harris believes that on paper, Democrats had the most qualified candidates.
“You cannot look at the years of service and say that they weren’t the most qualified,” Harris said.
Plank said county Republicans see the results as a signal that voters are embracing Republican values in Madison County and that the county is growing more conservative. He said that comes from county Republicans pushing support for lowering taxes and “responsible” government spending.
“It was an incredible night, and a clear sign that the voters overwhelmingly trust Republicans to be in charge of county government, and our message of lower taxes, transparency, accountability and support for law enforcement clearly resonated,” Plank said.
Kent Redfield, a political science professor emeritus at the University of Illinois-Springfield, said the true issue for Democrats lies in a changing demographic, difficulties with suburban voters and a changing Democratic Party. He said the party’s recent shift to further left ideologies has been a turn-off for some voters.
He said due to those changes and changing demographics, downstate Democrats have “lost a home” in the Illinois Democratic Party and are now struggling to contend with area Republicans, who in most cases will vote for a conservative Republican over a conservative Democrat.
“There’s been a tremendous amount of loss in the traditional Democratic base in a couple of different ways. Fewer blue-collar jobs and those sorts of things are happening,” Redfield said. “It’s a reflection of the weakness in the Democratic Party of Southern Illinois.”
But Redfield said Tuesday’s results do not signal that the county is going to turn into “Trump Country.” He said Democrats could still capture the suburban vote in upcoming elections as the interests of voters shift.
What comes next?
Going forward, Harris said Democrats in Madison County need to reorganize and start talking to voters to prepare for the next elections. He said a big part of that will be holding the controlling party accountable.
“We need to make our case and hold the Republican party accountable when they do things that are against the best interests of taxpayers,” Harris said. “We have a very distinct difference in what we believe government should do. We think government should be responsible with tax dollars; this Republican Party believes they should cut anything they can cut.”
For Republicans, Plank said the path is more of the same. He said the party will continue to see that no taxes are increased on the county level and that government spending is responsible.
“The biggest thing will be related to holding the line on taxes and not overspending,” he said, adding that with the newly captured offices of county auditor, state’s attorney and circuit clerk there will be an “increase in transparency.” County Republicans have battled with Democrats in those offices for years over a variety of issues.
What does it all mean for Madison County citizens?
Harris said the Republican’s big night means that the county’s government-provided services will most likely see more cuts. He said that’s been the case under Prenzler’s tenure as county chairman and he expects it to continue.
“They ran on the idea that they want to cut government and make it smaller,” he said. “When you make government smaller you lose the services that serve the people of Madison County.”
Plank said county residents can count on no taxes being raised at the county level and increased transparency from elected offices. He said Republicans are planning a “budget-friendly” approach to the coming year.
On top of that, Plank said he hopes to see more bipartisanship at the county board level, which is known for being fiercely split between Republicans and Democrats.
“We certainly hope some of the aggressive differences of the past will moderate a little bit,” he said.
Here are the unofficial results for Tuesday’s election in Madison County:
- Tom McRae defeated Amy Gabriel in the race for County Circuit Clerk, 71,215 to 60,509.
- Tom Haine defeated Crystal Uhe in the race for circuit clerk, 72,315 to 59,013.
- David Michael defeated Joe Silkwood in the race for auditor, 72,906 to 57,695.
- Democrat Steve Non defeated Republican Adam J. Micun in the race for county coroner, 69,930 to 61,082.
- Republican incumbent Kurt Prenzler defeated Democrat Bob Daiber in the race for county board chairman, 70,539 to 62,327
- Republican Stacey Pace defeated Democrat DeAnn Rizzi in the race for county board District 2, 3,556 to 2,190.
- Republican William Meyer defeated Democrat Maira Ferrari in the race for county board District 3, 4,395 to 1,676.
- Republican Bobby Ross defeated Kelly Simpson in the race for county board District 4, 3,744 to 1,819.
- Democrat Jack Minner defeated Republican Richard Keasey in the race for county board District 18, 3,187 to 1,827.
- Republican Aaron Messner defeated Democrat Dina Burch in the race for county board District 19, 2,215 to 2,190.
- Republican Denise Wiehardt defeated Democrat incumbent Kristen Novacich-Koberna in the race for county board District 20, 2,018 to 1,764.
- Republican incumbent Erica Conway Harriss defeated Democrat Collin Vanmeter in the race for county board District 26, 2,732 to 2,383.
- Republican Heather Mueller-Jones defeated Democrat Paul Rydgig in the race for county board District 27, 3,212 to 1,913.
- Republican Ryan Kneedler defeated Democrat Jim Trucano in the race for county board District 29, 2,201 to 2,140.
As of Tuesday evening, 5,699 outstanding vote-by-mail ballots in Madison County had yet to be counted. Election authorities will continue counting outstanding vote-by-mail ballots as they arrive until Nov. 17, and state officials will certify official results on Dec. 4.
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 7:00 AM.