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McLean County was an outlier this year

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Illinois

* After the 2016 election, the McLean county board had five Democrats and 15 Republicans. The Democrats slowly made gains over the years, tying it up in 2022. Now, they have a 12-8 majority…

For the first time, McLean County’s board has more Democrats on it than Republicans.

After the 2024 election, the McLean County Board is split 12 to 8 in favor of Democrats.

Seven Democrats were elected to the board on Tuesday, joining the five who were not up for re-election. Four Republicans were elected to the board. Board members who were not up for re-election will be on the ballot in 2026.

* Interesting…

”This is one of the few parts of the country where Kamala Harris actually did a little better than Biden did four years ago, and that is in McLean County. We certainly see some changes here,” said Tari Renner, a Political Science professor at Illinois Wesleyan and former mayor of Bloomington.

* Pantagraph…

A total of 11 County Board seats were open this election cycle. However, board member Adam Reeves, who represents the county’s first district, and Democrat Alex Duffy, who was seeking the sixth district seat currently held by Jack Abraham, ran unopposed.

McLean County Democratic Party Chair Patrick Cortesi said if the results as they stand are certified, this will be the first time the party has held a majority since the county has had an elected board.

* Isabel talked to reelected Rep. Sharon Chung (D-Bloomington) today…

In terms of McLean County, I’m really proud of a lot of the work that we did. The fact that we were able to flip the board, which I was on the board from 2018 to 2022, and for us to flip it to majority Democrats was a really huge feat. I think it just really speaks to the quality of candidates, quality of our ground game, for the McLean County Democrats, the sort of energy and momentum we had. I’m just really proud of a lot of that work.

When I first ran for the county board in 2018 there were only five Democrats. For us to make those gains in that amount of time has been really extraordinary.

I think also the fact that we had people on top of the ticket to really sort of help drive that. McLean County was one of the few counties in Illinois that gained more Democratic voters. And I think that just really speaks to a lot of the work we’ve been doing down in McLean County. And you know, the work that we were doing on our campaign, the work that Senator Koehler was doing on his campaign, Congressman Sorensen, all of us, was a big team effort. So we’re really proud of that.

* Politico…

McLean County Democratic Party Chair Patrick Cortesi credits hard work and keeping the messaging local. “We really talked about local issues,” he told Playbook. “When our candidates were going and knocking on doors, it wasn’t ‘Vote for me because I’m a Democrat,’ it was ‘Vote for me because I believe in women’s rights or promoting labor unions or fair wages or the environment.’ It depended on the district, and they all knew their districts well.” Cortesi also credits organized efforts by college students to get out to vote.

The ‘keeping-it-local’ strategy is something McLean Democrats modeled after campaigns by Stacy Abrams in Georgia and Anderson Clayton in North Carolina. “Of course, we’re proud to be Democrats, and we didn’t shy away from that,” Cortesi said. “But you gotta lead with the issues and then, once you find out they agree with you on the issues, you’re like, ‘Well, congratulations. You’re actually a Democrat.’”

* A view from the Republican side…

“I think their campaigns are like major league campaigns and I think our campaigns are like single-A campaigns,” said [former McLean County Republican Party chair Chuck Erickson].

McLean County [Republican] Party chair Dennis Grundler agreed, in part. He said the party needs to do more in certain respects.

“And [State Representative] Sharon Chung had a machine there, man! Churning those people out. That’s what the Republicans need to start focusing on, ballot harvesting and getting people to register and go,” said Grundler. “Because if not, we’re going to be looking at some more of the same.”

Erickson said there’s a lack of candidate mentoring and support.

“I think their candidates are being coached extensively, and they’re being assisted extensively by their party. I’m not certain our candidates are getting the same coaching or some of the same benefits their candidates are getting,” he said.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Nov 12, 24 @ 1:01 pm

Comments

Yes, it certainly is a switch from many years ago and unthought of then whar has happened. I do think the 2 Universities and Jr College has an impact on voters. I am not sure, but the younger generation seems around university environments to be more liberal. Possibly the GOP was relied too much on the expected around here and need to go back to the think tank. The other player is State Farms presence, the company has changed, and it is not the same company by any means it was 30 years ago. Much more progressive.

Comment by clec dcn Tuesday, Nov 12, 24 @ 1:08 pm
McLean is definitely interesting. It’s honestly feeling more and more like Champaign County, both as a destination for students (though not as internationalized) and as a place for people to move to (especially seemingly from California). I have no doubt that a big chunk of the recent swing over the past decade has been folks moving in from Chicago and California rather than a local shift. Just hope that the county dems put up more challengers for county-wide positions next time.

Granted, I am very concerned if and when Amazon ever stops subsidizing Rivian or if State Farm decides to cut and run even more to the south and southwest, as either would absolutely wreck the area’s economy.

As a dad with a young son, though, I hope that the county Dems get more like the county GOP and have better handouts at fairs, parades, and the like.

Comment by TJ Tuesday, Nov 12, 24 @ 1:11 pm
I’m surprised at how self-reflective those local GOPers are about this. Meanwhile, the Illinois GOP is raising a victory banner after maintaining their super-minority status.

Comment by NIU Grad Tuesday, Nov 12, 24 @ 1:22 pm
No question McLean is having success, which is great to see as a Democrat. There are some downstate counties like Rock Island Country that has been blue for decades. The DNC needs to visit that county and talk to the Democratic leaders. What’s their secret sauce? Blue downstate every two years.

Comment by Here and How Tuesday, Nov 12, 24 @ 1:25 pm
McLean County is more of a white collar educated county now…much like the collar counties around Chicago. McLean County has State Farm, Rivian, and ISU as its big employers. Bloomington Normal has a very suburban feel now which explains the election results.

Comment by Scoot Tuesday, Nov 12, 24 @ 1:39 pm
Simply put … we are doing the work. Speaker Welch says Winners do the work and that is why we are winning. Hard working candidates that knock on doors all the time. It is interesting that the 2 GOP they interview: Chuck Erickson lost a primary when his own county party backed Regan Deering and Grundler who lost a primary for county board.

Comment by Neef Jr. Tuesday, Nov 12, 24 @ 1:39 pm
The Maitlands & Brady twins always assumed GOPies controlled then…whomp… about time. Congrats Rep. Chung.

Comment by Annonin' Tuesday, Nov 12, 24 @ 1:54 pm
===After the 2016 election, the McLean county board had five Democrats and 15 Republicans. The Democrats slowly made gains over the years, tying it up in 2022. Now, they have a 12-8 majority…===

Portillo’s didn’t open in Normal until 2016. Occam’s razor.

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Nov 12, 24 @ 2:05 pm
Education polarization. Enough said. The only metro area with arguably more insurance industry workers per capita is Hartford, CT.
Combine that with Universities, Rivian, and great breweries and the white collar middle class folks don’t want to vote for a guy rambling about “Eating the cats” on the debate stage.

Comment by Hot Taeks Tuesday, Nov 12, 24 @ 2:49 pm
McLean has been trending blue. Outside of Stan Nord on Normal Town Council- look at about every county and city/town race.

McLean GOP run by dinosaurs. No idea how obsolete their apparatus is- and will continue to lose more and more

Comment by Central Illinois Centrist Tuesday, Nov 12, 24 @ 3:11 pm
McLean County may have changed from red to blue in this election. In other areas of the state such as Franklin and Williamson which were not to long ago blue, the opposite has happened with the the Democratic Party not bothering to field candidates. We for years during the dominance of GOP governors and patronage were the loyal opposition. Recent victory has resulted not from patronage but rather from issues that impact the working class. The most loyal Republicans are now the ex Democrats that reject the progressive agenda which goes against core beliefs. Areas which were once Republican might just have forgotten how to campaign as the label “Republican” once could elect them without effort.

Comment by Lightning Wednesday, Nov 13, 24 @ 12:23 am