Despite Republicans taking back the White House and the U.S. Senate, Democrats at the local level had a strong showing across DuPage County in Tuesday’s election.
In perhaps the biggest local surprise of the night, three-term DuPage County Coroner Richard Jorgensen appears to have been unseated by Democratic challenger Judith Lukas. As for other county-wide races, Democratic incumbents seeking reelection as circuit clerk and auditor and the Democratic candidate vying for recorder all prevailed, according to uncertified ballot counts.
On the DuPage County Board, one Democratic challenger has apparently unseated her Republican predecessor while other Democratic incumbents held onto their seats, leaving the body with 12 Democrats, six Republicans and a Democratic chair.
In the race for coroner, unofficial results show Lukas clinched the win by capturing nearly 5,400 more votes than Jorgensen. The vote count as of the last tally of ballots Tuesday night was 216,901 votes for Lukas to 211,513 for Jorgensen.
“The county wants a change,” Lukas said in a call Wednesday. “And I am ready to enact that change.”
A lifelong resident of DuPage County, Lukas is a registered nurse and has served as a Winfield Township Board trustee since 2021. She ran on a campaign focused on modernizing the coroner’s office, making the office’s role in the county more well-known and championing mental health.
Speaking to preliminary results, Lukas said, “I think of all the feelings that I’m feeling today, gratitude is probably the biggest one.”
She also thanked her opponent.
“I want to thank my predecessor because he was in the position for 12 years, and he did a good job,” she said. “I’m going to continue that good work, and I’m going to strive to make improvements as they come.”
DuPage County Coroner Richard Jorgensen appears to have lost his fourth reelection bid Tuesday night, according to unofficial results. (Supplied photo)
Jorgensen was first elected coroner in 2012. Prior to his election, he practiced general and trauma surgery in Chicago’s western suburbs for more than 20 years. Through his tenure as coroner, Jorgensen held onto his seat through three elections, running unopposed in 2012 and 2016 and winning against a Democratic challenger in 2020.
Jorgensen did not return a request for comment Wednesday.
Alongside Lukas, unofficial results show that Democratic incumbents Candice Adams and William White are headed to victory in their races for circuit clerk and auditor, respectively. Liz Chaplin, a DuPage County Board member since 2012, also appears to have bested her Republican opponent for recorder.
In vying for recorder, Chaplin left her District 2 county board seat up for grabs. Democrat Andrew Honig is positioned, according to unofficial results, to assume the position. All five other county board races pitted incumbents against challengers. Four incumbents appear to have snagged enough votes to keep their seats, including District 3 representative Lucy Chang Evans.
As things currently stand, Evans is slated to win over Republican challenger Baron Leacock by more than 2,700 votes. Evans, of Naperville, was first elected in 2022. District 3 covers much of southeastern DuPage, including the Naperville neighborhoods of University Heights, Cinnamon Creek and Green Ridge Estates.
In a call Wednesday, the former U.S. Secret Service agent said, “I’m very happy with the results.” With another term, Evans wants to prioritize public safety and using infrastructure to address climate resilience in the county, she said.
District 5, which comprises most of Naperville and sections of Aurora in DuPage, was the lone county board race that saw a challenger outperform its sitting representative. Democrat Saba Haider appears to have defeated Republican incumbent Patty Gustin, with the former receiving 39,265 votes to the latter’s 30,844.
Haider, an Aurora resident and small business owner, currently serves on the DuPage County Health Department’s Public Health Board. She ran her campaign on making “DuPage a safe, successful and sustainable county,” she said. Haider promises to be a mental health advocate on the board, while also ensuring the county “uses its tax money judiciously” and champions sustainability efforts.
With Haider positioned to win, Gustin is faced with losing the seat she won in 2022. Prior to the county board, Gustin served two terms on the Naperville City Council. She said Wednesday that it’s “really been my honor to represent our residents and businesses.”
Still, despite being down more than 8,400 votes in the unofficial vote count, Gustin said her campaign would not be conceding until the results are finalized later this month.
Ballots cast before and on Election Day have been counted, Chief Deputy DuPage County Clerk Adam Johnson said Wednesday. What’s still outstanding are mail-in ballots the county has yet to receive or count. Mail-in ballots received up to two weeks after Election Day can still be added to the tally as long as they are postmarked Nov. 5, Johnson said.
As of the end of tabulation Tuesday, the clerk’s office had counted 87,005 of 105,090 requested mail-in ballots, leaving some 18,000 still outstanding. At most, that’s how many mail-in ballots could conceivably be postmarked and returned to the clerk’s office over the next two weeks, Johnson said.
Asked if he had an estimate for how many outstanding ballots the clerk’s office expects to see returned, Johnson said it’s hard to speculate.
Between mail-in, early and Election Day voters, 72.54% of all registered voters cast ballots in this year’s general election.
Compared to four years ago, turnout this year was apparently lower. In 2020, the county reported 76.55% turnout. Still, versus 2016, which saw 70.61% turnout, this year proved to entice more people to the ballot box.
In addition to the strong showing of Democratic candidates in local elections, the majority of DuPage voters threw their support behind Kamala Harris for president. The vice president captured 55.55% of ballots cast in DuPage to Trump’s 42.86%.
However, Trump, who nationally scored a decisive victory over Harris, did gain points in DuPage over his previous presidential bid. In 2020, he captured 39.91% of the county’s vote. More consequential, though, are the grounds that Harris lost. While Joe Biden snagged 281,222 votes across DuPage in 2020, Harris in Tuesday’s election collected 245,192, some 36,000 less than the president four years ago.
