GOP Newcomers to Appear on November Ballot
By Patrick Stout
Two familiar names won’t be on the election ballot in November. McDonough County Sheriff Nick Petitgout and State Rep. Norine Hammond lost their respective races in Tuesday's Republican primary.
Retired Illinois State Police Trooper Joe Moon defeated Petitgout nearly two-to-one, earning 2,198 ballots to the incumbent sheriff's 1,053 votes. Moon won the race by more than 55 percent. Unless an independent or new party challenger comes forward, Moon will run unopposed on the ticket in November. While Hammond was defeated by Joshua Higgins, she beat the newcomer from Biggsville in McDonough County, garnering 881 votes to his 851. The relatively small numbers are indicative of the state remap that decimated Hammond's McDonough County base. Higgins will also run unopposed unless an independent or new party candidate files by the May 26 filing deadline.
In other races, retired Illinois State Police Master Sergeant Brad Beekman from Bushnell beat out Patrick Harlan, a trucker from Galesburg, securing more than 53 percent of the votes in the Republican primary for Illinois State Senate District 36. Beekman will face longtime incumbent Democrat Mike Halpin, who ran unopposed, in the November general election. Ninth Judicial Circuit Court Judge candidate Carissa Bedwell-Bryant, a partner with Partner at Tucker, Hartzell & Bryant in Carthage, secured the necessary write-in votes in Tuesday’s primary to be placed on the ballot in November to fill the vacancy of Judge Raymond Cavanaugh.
Only one-third of the county's 16,873 registered voters turned out for the March 17 primary election. The 5,206 who voted represented 30.85 percent of total registered voters. The top vote getter on the county ballot was County Treasurer Dana Moon, running unopposed, who received 3,324 votes. The second-highest vote total on the ballot was 3,303 for County Clerk Jeremy Benson, also running unopposed. Benson had to enforce his election authority Tuesday by removing a poll worker who reportedly threatened a voter requesting a partisan ballot (see updated story about the incident, including a quote from the ousted worker, on page three).
All McDonough County Board candidates on the primary ballots were advanced to the November election. They included incumbents Mike Cox, Vicky Kipling and Jarad Royer on the Republican District 3 ballot; incumbents Travis Hiel, David Cortelyou, Eric Chapman and Clayton Murphy on the Republican District 2 ballot; incumbents Larry Aurelio and Eric Blakeley, and newcomer Mitchell Markey on the Republican District 1 ballot for four-year terms. Allen Henderson, incumbent Mike Kirby and Al Alveshire were selected on the Democratic District 1 ballot for four-year terms; Tim Frier on the Democratic District 1 ballot for a two-year term; and Nate Young, a write-in candidate with 11 votes on the Republican District 1 ballot for a two-year term.
A state question regarding private funds for K-12 students passed in McDonough County: 2,733 to 2,080. Overall, residents of nearly 31 counties voted on whether they think the state’s students should benefit from the new program, which allows for donor-provided education money. Over 63 percent voted yes to opt into the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program. The Illinois Education Association (IEA) had strongly opposed the ballot question, stating it was “misleadingly worded to make voters think no public money will be used.” According to the IEA, 80 percent of public schools are underfunded in Illinois, and the federal plan takes tax dollars away from public schools and gives that money to private schools.
