2020 Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court election
November 3, 2020
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| Turnout | 65.22%[1][2] | |||||||||||||||
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In the 2020 Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court election was held on November 3, 2020. Democratic nominee Iris Martinez was elected to succeed outgoing fifth-term clerk Dorothy A. Brown, a Democrat who did not seek re-election.[3]
Background
[edit]The incumbent fifth-term clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Dorothy Brown, announced in 2019 that she would not run for re-election.[4] Brown had been the subject of a federal corruption investigation when she made the announcement.[4]
The last Republican to hold this office was Brown's immediate predecessor Aurelia Pucinski, who, while elected a Democrat in each of her elections to the office, had switched parties in her final term.[5][6]
The election was a component of the 2020 Cook County, Illinois, elections. It coincided with the 2020 United States presidential election (including its primaries, which coincided with Illinois's Democratic, Republican presidential primaries), as well as the 2020 Illinois elections.
Democratic primary
[edit]Candidates for Democratic primary
[edit]The following candidates ran for the Democratic Party nomination for Clerk of the Circuit Court:
| Candidate | Experience | Campaign | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Michael Cabonargi | Member of Cook County Board of Review for the 2nd district | Website | [7] |
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Richard Boykin | Former member of Cook County Board of Commissioners for the 1st district | Website | [7] |
.jpg) |
Iris Martinez | Illinois State Senator for the 20th district | Website | [7] |
.jpg) |
Jacob Meister | Civil rights lawyer Candidate for Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court in 2016 Candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010 |
Website Archived 2020-02-01 at the Wayback Machine | [4][7] |
- Withdrew
- Theresa Siaw, candidate for 29th ward alderman in 2019[8]
- Mariyana Spyropoulos, member of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Board of Commissioners[8]
- Todd Stroger, former president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners –withdrew amid challenge to his ballot petitions[9]
Endorsements in Democratic primary
[edit]Richard Boykin
- Newspapers
- Organizations
- Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge #7[11]
- Elected officials
- Dorothy A. Brown, incumbent Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court[12]
- Danny K. Davis, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 7th district[4]
- Individuals
- Christopher G. Kennedy, Democratic candidate for Governor of Illinois in 2018[13]
Michael Cabonargi
- Newspapers
- Organizations
- Elected officials
- Dick Durbin, United States Senator[12]
- Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President[4]
- Jan Schakowsky, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 9th district[4]
- Jesse White, Illinois Secretary of State[12]
Jacob Meister
- Newspapers
- Organizations
- Chicago NOW PAC[17]
- LGBTQ Victory Fund[17]
- Northside Democracy for America[4]
- Southside Democracy for America[17]
- Elected officials
- James Cappleman, alderman for Chicago's 46th ward[17]
- Maria Hadden, alderman for Chicago's 49th ward[17]
- Theresa Mah, Illinois State Representative for the 2nd district[17]
- David Orr, former Cook County Clerk[17]
- Andre Thapedi, Illinois State Representative for the 32nd district[17]
- Scott Waguespack, alderman for Chicago's 32nd ward[17]
Polls for Democratic primary
[edit]| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Richard Boykin |
Michael Cabonargi |
Iris Y. Martinez |
Jacob Meister |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALG Research[12] | February 9–12, 2020 | 500 | ± 4.4 | 12% | 4% | 15% | 3% | 65% |
| Fako Research & Strategies (Boykin)[12] | Late-January, 2020 | 13% | 4% | 11% | 3% | 69% |
Campaign of Democratic primary
[edit]All four candidates in the Democratic Party primary for the office pledged to modernize the office and to address corruption.[18][19]
Results of Democratic primary
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Iris Y. Martinez | 269,578 | 33.67 | |
| Democratic | Michael M. Cabonargi | 216,180 | 27.00 | |
| Democratic | Richard R. Boykin | 199,526 | 24.92 | |
| Democratic | Jacob Meister | 113,855 | 14.22 | |
| Write-in | Others | 1,511 | 0.19 | |
| Total votes | 800,650 | 100 | ||
Republican primary
[edit]Candidates for Republican primary
[edit]The following candidates ran for the Republican party nomination for Clerk of the Circuit Court:
| Candidate | Experience | Campaign | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbara Ruth Bellar | Candidate for Illinois State Senate in 2012 Candidate for Illinois House of Representatives in 2010 |
[7] |
- Write-in candidates
- Richard Mayers,[21] perennial candidate and alleged white supremacist,[22][23][24][25][26][27] write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, Treasurer, and alderman in 2019;[28] congressional candidate in 2000,[26] 2002,[26] 2008,[26] 2016, 2018,[29][30][31] and 2020;[32] 1998 State House candidate;[26] 1993 Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate;[26] write-in candidate for U.S. Senator in 2020;[32] write-in candidate in 2020 Illinois Republican presidential primary[32]
Results of Republican primary
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Barbara Bellar | 64,160 | 99.42 | |
| Write-in | Richard Mayers | 1 | 0.00 | |
| Write-in | Others | 374 | 0.58 | |
| Total votes | 64,535 | 100 | ||
General election
[edit]Endorsements in general election
[edit]Iris Martinez (D)
- Newspapers
Results of general election
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Iris Y. Martinez | 1,549,615 | 73.03 | +4.81 | |
| Republican | Barbara Bellar | 572,169 | 26.97 | −4.81 | |
| Total votes | 2,121,784 | 100 | |||
Martinez's 73.03% share of the vote was the most that any candidate had received for this office since the 2004. Bellar's 26.97% vote share was the worst performance by a major party (Democratic or Republican) nominee since that same election.
References
[edit]- ↑ "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE NOVEMBER 3, 2020 PRESIDENTIAL GENERAL ELECTION HELD IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS" (PDF). Cook County Clerk. 24 November 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 11, 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- ↑ "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE NOVEMBER 3, 2020 GENERAL ELECTION HELD IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL OF THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO" (PDF). Chicago Board of Elections. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- ↑ Ferrarin, Elena (3 November 2020). "Martinez elected first Latina circuit clerk for Cook County". Daily Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cohen, Mari (January 22, 2020). "The Race to Repair Dorothy Brown's Office". Chicago magazine. Archived from the original on 2020-02-01. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
- ↑ Becker, Robert (11 December 1997). "AURELIA PUCINSKI JOINS GOP". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ↑ Hanna, Janan (25 October 2000). "COURT CLERK FOES HOPE TO PHASE OUT FRICTION". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2020): Clerk of the Circuit Court". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
- 1 2 Sfondeles, Tina (13 September 2019). "Mariyana Spyropoulos drops bid for circuit court clerk". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ↑ Hinton, Rachel (30 December 2019). "Todd Stroger withdraws from primary". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ↑ Chicago Tribune Editorial Board (2020-02-24). "Editorial: For clerk of Cook courts: Richard Boykin to replace Dorothy Brown". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
- ↑ "FOP Primary Election Endorsements — Fraternal Order of Police | Chicago, Lodge 7". Fraternal Order of Police | Chicago, Lodge 7. 18 February 2020. Archived from the original on March 6, 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Quig, A.D. (18 March 2020). "Martinez emerges from crowded Circuit Court Clerk primary". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
- ↑ Kennedy, Chris (16 March 2020). "When you vote this week, cast your ballot for Richard Boykin!". www.facebook.com. Facebook. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ↑ CST Editorial Board (2020-02-14). "ENDORSEMENT: Michael Cabonargi for Cook County Circuit Court clerk in Democratic primary". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
- ↑ "The 2020 endorsement results are in!". Democratic Party of Evanston. 10 February 2020. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ↑ The Daily Herald Editorial Board (2020-02-22). "Endorsement: Meister for Democrats to replace Dorothy Browns as Cook County court clerk". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Former Clerk David Orr, progressive stakeholders, and organizations endorse Meister for Clerk | Jacob Meister for Clerk of the Circuit Court". jacobforclerk.com. 2020-03-05. Archived from the original on 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
- ↑ Schorsch, Kristen (February 21, 2020). "5 Takeaways From A Feisty Debate For Cook County Court Clerk Hopefuls". WBEZ. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- ↑ "Clerk of the Circuit Court | 2020 Election Voters' Guide". WTTW News. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- 1 2 "Cook County and The City of Chicago Primary Election March 17, 2020 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ↑ "March 17, 2020 Write-in Candidates | Cook County Clerk's Office". www.cookcountyclerk.com. Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original on 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ↑ "'I snookered them': Illinois Nazi candidate creates GOP dumpster fire". Politico.com. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
- ↑ "Jewish candidate files against alleged supremacist". November 10, 2009. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ↑ "Man Delivers Nazi Salutes at Hearing - Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News Archive". Windy City Times. 27 July 2005. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
- ↑ McNeil, Tribune staff reporter, Brett. "White supremacist faces charges". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Alleged white supremacist running for Congress in 3rd District". Rblandmark.com. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
- ↑ Bell, Barbara. "Man is arrested for Nazi salutes". Chicago Tribunem. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ↑ "Results" (PDF). chicagoelections.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
- ↑ "STATISTICS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES FOR THE ELECTION OF NOVEMBER 6, 2018 SHOWING THE VOTE CAST FOR EACH NOMINEE FOR UNITED STATES SENATOR, REPRESENTATIVE, RESIDENT COMMISSIONER, AND DELEGATE TO THE ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS, TOGETHER WITH A RECAPITULATION THEREOF" (PDF). Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- ↑ "3 mayoral candidates booted from ballot". Chicago Sun-Times. 27 December 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
- ↑ "Richard Mayers". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
- 1 2 3 "LIST OF PERSONS WHO FILED A DECLARATION OF INTENT TO BE A WRITE-IN CANDIDATE" (PDF). Kane County Clerk. January 16, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
- ↑ "Here are the candidates we endorse in the Illinois primaries". Chicago Sun-Times. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ↑ "2020 General Election" (PDF). Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ↑ "Cook County and The City of Chicago General Election November 3, 2020 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
