Voter turnout was strong across southern Illinois, with many choosing to vote early or mail their ballots.
Congressional Races:
IL 12th - Mike Bost (Republican) vs. Ray Lenzi (Democrat)
Incumbent Congressman Mike Bost carried a strong lead over his Democratic challenger, Ray Lenzi, through the evening as ballots were counted. The 12th Congressional District has leaned to the GOP since Bost won the seat eight years ago, after decades of Democratic control.
IL 15th - Mary Miller (Republican) vs. Erica Weaver (Democrat)
In the seat being vacated by retiring Congressman John Shimkus (R-Collinsville), with a majority of precincts reporting, Republican Mary Miller won over Democrat Erica Weaver. The 15th District is strongly Republican, covering all or parts of east central and southeastern Illinois.
IL General Assembly:
IL 115th - Paul Jacobs (Republican) vs. Ian Peak (Libertarian) vs. Randy Auxier (Green)
Republican Paul Jacobs carried a commanding lead over Ian Peak and Randy Auxier. All three were vying for the open seat currently held by Representative Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro). Bryant chose to run for the open 58th State Senate seat, and was unopposed in that race.
IL 116th - David Friess (Republican) vs. Nathan Reitz (Democrat)
Incumbent Representative Nathan Reitz faced an uphill battle against challenger David Friess. The southwestern Illinois district began tipping Republican several years ago, and in his statement late Tuesday night, Representative-elect Friess thanked Reitz for his service.
Illinois Supreme Court - 5th District
Ballots in the multi-county 5th District were still being counted early Wednesday morning, where the race for the seat on the Illinois Supreme Court that represents 37 counties in southern Illinois pits a centrist Democratic candidate against a self-described “constitutional conservative” Republican.
With 94% of the vote in, Republican David Overstreet held a strong 63% to 37% lead over Democrat Judy Cates. The two are competing for a spot on the state's highest court that is currently held by Lloyd Karmeier, a Republican who plans to retire from the bench in December.
Cates and Overstreet both serve on the 5th District Appellate Court – one of five state appellate courts, which are below the Illinois Supreme Court and hear appeals from circuit courts. The losing candidate in November’s election will continue serving on the appellate court until his or her term ends.
Illinois Appellate Court - 5th District
Mark Boie (Republican) vs. Sarah Smith (Democrat)
With a majority of the vote counted, Republicans hold a strong lead in Illinois' 5th Judicial District.
County Races:
Franklin County:
Voter turnout topped 62% in Franklin County, with more than 18,600 ballots cast.
Incumbent Circuit Clerk, Republican Jim Muir, is unopposed in his run for reelection.
In the race for Coroner, Democrat Marty Leffler narrowly outpaced Republican Brandon Odle, winning by less than 500 votes. In the State's Attorney's race, Republican Abby Dinn kept a commanding lead over Democrat Phillip Butler.
County Board races had Republicans winning all races. Mark Kash, Brad Wilson, and John Gossett all won the contested county board races.
Jackson County:
In Jackson County, voter turnout topped 71% with more than 21,500 votes cast.
Democrat Cindy Svanda held a commanding lead over Green Party Candidate Jessica Bradshaw in the race for Circuit Clerk. Meanwhile incumbent Coroner, Democrat Tom Kupferer, appears to have narrowly won reelection - beating Republican challenger Alex Crawshaw by less than 200 votes.
Democrat Liz Hunter won the race for Treasurer over Republican Jason Svanda, holding a 52%-48% majority of the vote... and GOP Challenger Joe Cervantez edged out incumbent Democrat Mike Carr in the State's Attorney's race 53% to 47%.
In the contest for County Board, Gene Basden, TC Mueller, Julie Peterson, and Jessica Edmond are poised to win their respective races.
On the question of whether Murphysboro should ban the sale of recreational cannabis within city limits, voters overwhelmingly opposed the ban. No votes outnumbered yes votes by a nearly two-to-one margin.
Jefferson County:
Voter turnout was more than 72% in Jefferson County, where the only contested race was on the County Board. Republican Joey McDermott beat Democrat Kathy Hulbert 75% to 25% in that race.
Marion County:
With nearly all precincts reporting in Marion county, in the race for Circuit Clerk, Republican Tiffany Schicker is ahead of Democrat Cathy Malone 60% to 37%.
Another Republican holds the lead in the race for County Coroner, Troy Cannon has 60 % of the vote while Democrat Nicholas Heath has 36%.
The GOP won all County Board seats, as well, with Angela Hiestand, Creighton Engel, Steven Whritenour, Judy Shafer, Christopher Krubb, Judith Meeks-Hakim, Adam Smith, and David Iossi winning election.
The City of Centralia's proposed half-percent sales tax to fund municipal operations appears to have failed. Voters said no on that question 60% to 36%.
On the question of, should Marion County enter into discussions with all other Illinois counties, except Cook, to explore the possibility of forming a new state, 68% of voters said YES, with 27% voting no.
Perry County:
Preliminary results from Perry County show Republican John Batteau leading Democrat Beth Lipe in the race for County Clerk, and in the State's Attorney's race, Republican David Searby has a commanding lead over Democrat Bubba Harsy. Republican Bruce Morganstern leads Democrat Susan Hepp by a 2-1 margin in the race for County Commissioner.
Rebecca Winter wins the race for Supervisor of Assessments, and Paul Searby wins Coroner. Both were unopposed.
Union County:
Republican candidates swept the three contested races in Union County.
Tyler Tripp easily won the State's Attorney's race over democrat Daniel Klingemann with 66 percent of the vote. Klingemann was appointed to the post in 2019 to succeed Tyler Edmonds, who accepted a judicial appointment.
Keri Clark defeated incumbent democrat Tiffany Busby in the Circuit Clerk's race, receiving 51 percent of the vote.
Republican Darryl Harvell won Seat E on the County Board of Commissioners by easily outdistancing Democrat Bobby Toler, Jr., who had been Vice Chairman of the board.
Williamson County:
With all precincts reporting in, voters have chosen Republican Austin Crabb for Circuit Clerk - unseating Democrat Andrew Wilson. Incumbent Coroner Junior Burke edged out Republican Brad Boyd, winning by just two percentage points.
State's Attorney Brandon Zanotti and Treasurer Ashley Gott were unopposed in their races. And in the race for the open County Board seat, Republican Tim Atkisson beat Independent Angelo Hightower by nearly 9,000 votes.
Editor's Note: It's important to remember that ALL vote totals are unofficial until County Clerks hold their canvas, two weeks after Election Day (November 17). Mail-in ballots can be counted until that time, as long as they are postmarked by November 3.
