Madison County Republicans continue ‘historical’ streak of victories, board chairman says
The Republican gains in Tuesday’s election in Madison County are being described as another step in the “historical” nature of the party’s advances in the county in recent years.
Republicans won the county’s three judicial races, a state Senate race in which the Democratic incumbent lost, the county clerk’s race and the party increased its presence on the county board.
Madison County Republicans are now set to control all of the non-judicial, elected offices that run the day-to-day operations of the county government except for the coroner’s office.
“It was a very, very significant change given Madison County’s history,” said Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler, a Republican.
“That was historical, I would say,” he said of the results from Tuesday’s election.
Prenzler said all three judicial seats were taken by the GOP candidates because residents were upset with the “unfair” way the districts known as “subcircuits” were established as part of a law signed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker in January.
Randy Harris, the Madison County Democratic Party chair, said the Democrats fielded “really great candidates” but the Democratic turnout wasn’t there. He said the party needs to reorganize to show the residents their positions provide the best way to make the county a great place to live.
“I think the local, downstate Republicans are not running on anything they’re going to do, they’re simply running on things they are against,” Harris said. “I think they’re nationalizing things and they’re opposed to everything, they’re not really for anything.”
“They’re anti-democratic,” he said.
Here are highlights of Madison County’s complete but unofficial election results:
▪ Erica Conway Harriss, a Republican member of the county board, defeated Democratic incumbent Sen. Kris Tharp in the state Senate District 56 race. The district is primarily in Madison County but also includes a section of St. Clair County. Harris had 37,192 votes to Tharp’s 35,228.
▪ Republican Linda Andreas defeated County Clerk/Recorder Debbie Ming Mendoza, a Democrat who has held the position for 10 years. Andreas had 49,573 votes and Ming Mendoza had 46,842.
▪ Republicans will hold 18 seats on the county board, which is up from 17. Democrats will have eight seats, which is down from 11. Overall, the board will have 26 seats, down from the current level of 29, which includes one vacant seat.
▪ Republican Jeff Connor won the uncontested sheriff’s race to replace John Lakin, a Democrat, who did not run for re-election.
▪ In the newly created 1st Subcircuit races for circuit judge, Republicans Amy Sholar, Christopher Threlkeld and Tim Berkley defeated Democrats Ebony Huddleston, John Barry Julian and A. Ryan Jumper, respectively. Sholar had 14,994 votes while Huddleston had 11,566; Threlkeld had 13,439 votes while Julian had 13,039; and Berkley had 13,749 votes while Jumper had 12,678.
All results are unofficial until certified by election authorities. Local election officials have until Nov. 29 to send their election results to the Illinois State Board of Elections, which is scheduled to certify the official results on Dec. 5.
Judicial seats
Prenzler said the three Republican judicial candidates were boosted by voters who heard about the county’s nonbinding proposition on the ballot about how the county’s judges are selected.
Voters overwhelmingly approved a non-binding proposition that asked voters whether they want the right to vote for each county circuit judge rather than just the judges in their subcircuit.
The countywide advisory question said: “Should all Madison County voters have the right to vote for each Madison County Circuit Judge, instead of only being allowed to vote if they reside in a politically-gerrymandered subcircuit of the county created by the General Assembly in Springfield?”
Nearly 88% of the voters, or 82,018, said “yes” to this question while there were 11,679 “no” votes.
“I definitely think that that advisory question on public policy definitely helped the Republican judicial candidates,” Prenzler said.
“I think it was viewed as something that was done for a political reason.”
Pritzker signed a law creating “subcircuits” in the 3rd Judicial Circuit, which covers Madison and Bond counties.
Opponents of the law say it’s an example of gerrymandering in an attempt to boost Democratic candidates, while supporters say the subcircuits are designed to give all areas of the circuit representation.
New Madison County clerk
Andreas said she didn’t have an opinion about the number of Republican candidates winning seats in recent years in Madison County.
As far her race, she said residents she met said each had their own issue that concerned them.
“I just believe that so many people in the county … really just wanted to see change,” she said. “They were just ready for a change and obviously that result showed that.
“People just want real people. They’re just looking for real people that will stand by them, that will stand for them and, you know, just do good by them, regardless of party.”
Ming Mendoza said she will miss the clerk’s office.
“I’m just honored to have been allowed this opportunity to serve Madison County for the last 10 years,” Ming Mendoza said.
“There’s no reason for me to be sad. I’m disappointed as I love this job but the voters made their choice and I wish the new county clerk/recorder the very best,” Ming Mendoza said.
“She will be given the greatest office staff that any county office has and they will serve her proudly and make her proud that she is now the new clerk/recorder.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
