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2018 Cook County Board of Commissioners election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →
All 17 seats on the Cook County Board of Commissioners 9 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Party Democratic Republican Seats before 13 4 Seats won 15 2 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 1,292,420 287,854 Percentage 81.79% 18.22% Swing 4.67% 4.62%
Results by gains and holds Results by winning party vote shareResults:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold Vote Share:      50–60%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%      50–60%

The 2018 Cook County Board of Commissioners election was held on November 6, 2018, and was preceded by primary elections held on March 20, 2018. It saw all seventeen seats of the Cook County Board of Commissioners up for election to four-year terms and coincided with other 2018 Cook County, Illinois, elections (including the election for president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners).

Anticipating a potential wave election year for Democrats, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and Cook County Democratic Party Chairwoman Toni Preckwinkle made a focused effort to increase the Democrats' majority on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, focusing these efforts on three of the Board's four Republican-held seats. Preckwinkle-backed Democratic nominees ultimately succeeded in ousting Republican incumbents in the 14th and 15th districts, but fell roughly a mere 2,000 votes shy of unseating the 17th district's Republican incumbent. Preckwinkle did not target the Republican-held 9th district seat, as the incumbent Republican, Peter N. Silvestri, was both popular and a political centrist and had a reputation for being a peacemaker on the Board at times when conflict arose between its members. Democrats ran candidates for all seventeen seats, compared to the fifteen seats that the party had contested in the preceding 2014 election. Meanwhile, Republicans ran candidates for eight seats, and increase from the five seats they had contested in the 2014 election.

Seven new members were elected, and ten incumbents were reelected. Three incumbents did not seek reelection. Four incumbents lost reelection, with two being defeated in primaries and the other two losing their general elections.

Two races saw seats change party, in both instances seeing an incumbent Republican losing to a Democratic challenger, creating a net gain of two seats for Democrats and a net loss of two seats for Republicans. Nine races saw a Democrat unchallenged in the general election.

1st district

Incumbent first-term Commissioner Richard Boykin, a Democrat, lost reelection, being unseated in the Democratic primary by Brandon Johnson by a margin of 0.88%. Johnson went on to win the general election unopposed.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

Only write-in candidates ran in the Republican primary. No certified write-in received enough votes to win the nomination.

General election

2nd district

Incumbent Commissioner Dennis Deer, who was appointed in 2017 to fill the vacancy left by the death in office of Robert Steele, won election to his first full term.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

3rd district

Incumbent Commissioner Jerry Butler, a Democrat who first assumed the office in 1985, did not seek reelection. Democrat Bill Lowry was elected to succeed him.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary. Republicans ultimately nominated George Blakemore.

General election

4th district

Incumbent Commissioner Stanley Moore, a Democrat who was appointed to the office in 2013 and was elected outright to a full term in 2014, won reelection to a second full term.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

5th district

Incumbent sixth-term Commissioner Deborah Sims, a Democrat, was reelected.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

6th district

Incumbent Commissioner Edward Moody, a Democrat who was appointed to the seat in 2016 following the death in office of Joan Patricia Murphy, did not seek reelection. Democrat Donna Miller was elected to succeed him.

Primaries

Democratic

Donna Miller defeated Patricia Joan Murphy, the daughter of deceased former 6th district commissioner Joan Patricia Murphy and Crestwood mayor Louis Presta.

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

7th district

Incumbent second-term Commissioner Jesús "Chuy" García, a Democrat, did not seek reelection, instead opting to run for election to Illinois's 4th congressional district. Democrat Alma Anaya was elected to succeed him.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

8th district

Incumbent first-term Commissioner Luis Arroyo Jr., a Democrat, was reelected.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

9th district

Incumbent sixth-term Commissioner Peter N. Silvestri, a Republican, was reelected.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

10th district

Incumbent Commissioner Bridget Gainer, a Democrat first appointed in 2009 and elected outright to two full-terms, was reelected.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

11th district

Incumbent Commissioner John P. Daley, a Democrat in office since 1992, was reelected.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

12th district

Incumbent second-term Commissioner John Fritchey, a Democrat, lost reelection, being unseated in the Democratic primary by Bridget Degnen, who went on to win the general election unopposed.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

13th district

Incumbent fourth-term Commissioner Larry Suffredin, a Democrat, was reelected.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

14th district

Incumbent fifth-term Commissioner Gregg Goslin, a Republican, lost reelection to Democrat Scott R. Britton.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

15th district

Incumbent third-term Commissioner Tim Schneider, a Republican, lost reelection to Democrat Kevin B. Morrison.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

16th district

Incumbent second-term Commissioner Jeff Tobolski, a Democrat, was reelected, running unopposed in both the Democratic primary and general election.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

No candidates, ballot-certified or formal write-in, ran in the Republican primary.

General election

17th district

Incumbent Commissioner Sean M. Morrison, a Republican appointed in 2015 following the resignation of Elizabeth Ann Doody Gorman, was reelected, defeating his Democratic opponent, Abdelnasser Rashid, by a narrow 1.14% margin in the general election.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

General election

Summarizing statistics

References

1. ^ "Cook County and The City of Chicago General Election November 6, 2018 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2021.
2. ^ "Cook County and The City of Chicago Primary Election March 20, 2018 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
3. Schorsch, Kristen; Mihalopoulos, Dan (November 7, 2018). "'Blue Wave' Swamps Two Cook County Board Republicans". WBEZ Chicago. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
4. Schorsch, Kristen (September 19, 2022). "Republicans look to keep what few seats they have on the Cook County Board". WBEZ Chicago. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
5. Donavan, Lisa; Pratt, Gregory (November 7, 2018). "In Cook County Board races, Republican strongholds lose grip to blue wave — and a lot of green". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
6. Koeske, Zak (October 8, 2016). "Moody unanimous choice for vacant Cook County Board seat". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
7. Swanson, Lorraine (March 20, 2018). "Miller Wins 6th District Democratic Primary For Cook County Board". Alsip-Crestwood, IL Patch. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
8. Zumbach, Lauren (July 22, 2015). "Morrison appointed to replace Gorman as Cook County commissioner". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 9, 2020.

• Cook County Board of Commissioners elections
• 2018 Cook County, Illinois, elections