Primary election results from across Southern Illinois continue to come into focus, with several key races decided and others setting the stage for the November general election.
In the Regional Office of Education Superintendent race, Sarah Emery secured a decisive victory across the nine-county region. Unofficial totals show Emery with 9,395 votes, defeating Shain Crank, who received 4,664 votes.
At the state level, Illinois voters will see a rematch in the governor’s race this fall. Darren Bailey won the Republican nomination with 210,600 votes (52 percent), ahead of Ted Dabrowski with 122,116 votes (30 percent), James Mendrick with 40,267 votes (10 percent), and Rick Heidner with 34,713 votes (9 percent). Bailey will face incumbent Governor J.B. Pritzker in November. On the Democratic side, Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton is projected to win the party’s nomination for U.S. Senate.
Local voters in Jefferson County approved the construction of a new fire station for the Jefferson County Fire Protection District.
In White County, unofficial results show incumbent Jordan Weiss leading challenger Chris Pollard by a vote of 1,496 to 1,216. Voter turnout reached just under 40 percent, with 3,897 ballots cast out of 9,775 registered voters.
Several sheriff’s races were also decided across the region. Jeff Diederich won the race for Williamson County Sheriff, finishing with a 13 percent lead and all precincts reporting. In Saline County, Craig Williams defeated incumbent Whipper Johnson and candidate Curt Hustedde to claim the sheriff’s position.
In Hamilton County, incumbent Tracy Lakin held off challenger Jason Stewart by a margin of 879 to 726. While approximately 115 vote-by-mail ballots remain outstanding, the margin is too large to be overcome. In Hamilton County where there are 5,536 registered voters, 1,935 total ballots were cast with just under 85% of them being Republican ballots. Voter turnout in Hamilton County was less than 35%.
Gallatin County voters selected James “Nick” Capeheart as the Republican nominee for sheriff, as he defeated Scottie Ryan Sauls 820 to 276. Capeheart will face Democrat T. Scott Sauls in the November general election.
In legislative races, Paul Jacobs is projected to win the Republican nomination for Illinois’ 59th Senate District, a seat currently held by retiring Senator Dale Fowler. Dave Severin also secured re-election in the 116th Illinois House District, defeating challenger Angela Evans.
As final results are certified, attention now turns to the general election, where several of these races—particularly the governor’s contest—are expected to draw significant attention across the state.