Good Night for Incumbents in Effingham County

Full Effingham County election returns are located here.

Tuesday was a good night for incumbents in Effingham County on Primary Election Night 2020.

Voter turnout countywide was 34.15%. Of 23,736 people registered to vote in the county, 8,106 ballots were cast. There were 6,401 Republican ballots, and 1,689 Democrat ballots pulled.

In the battle for the Republican nomination for County Coroner, incumbent Kim Rhodes defeated challenger Gerry Kingery 3,427 to 2,807. That's a 55% to 45% margin, 620 more votes for Rhodes than for Kingery. Two years ago, Rhodes narrowly defeated Kingery when Rhodes ran as the Republican candidate and Kingery ran as an independent.

Unless an opponent files as a Democrat candidate for coroner between now and November, Rhodes is unopposed for a four-year term. Our earlier information about the term involved was incorrect.

The incumbents also won primary contests for Effingham County Board. 

Republican John Perry defeated former Board member Mike DePoister in District E, 423 to 354, while incumbent Republican Joseph Thoele defeated Jeremy Deters by exactly 100 votes in District I, 493 to 393.

In two other County Board primary contests, Norbert Soltwedel won a three-way race for the Republican nomination in District A, with Soltwedel picking up 268 votes to 213 votes for Gerald Kinkelaar and 188 votes for Eric Petty, while Elizabeth Huston won the Republican nomination in District F, narrowly defeating Bruce Kessler, 339 to 310. There are no incumbents in those two races, as Lloyd Foster in District A and Jeff Simpson in District F are not seeking re-election. 

In District H, Republican incumbent Rob Arnold is unopposed for another term, and received 854 votes.

In state legislative races, St. Rep. Darren Bailey of Xenia claimed a convincing win for the Republican nomination for state senate in the 55th District, easily defeating Jeff Fleming of Olney for the chance to succeed retiring St. Sen. Dale Righter of Mattoon. There is no Democrat candidate for the seat.

In the race for the Republican nomination for the 109th House District to succeed Bailey, Adam Niemerg of Effingham County posted a convincing win over Richland County Sheriff Andy Hires by a better than 60% to 40% margin.

In the race to see who will succeed retiring Congressman John Shimkus of Edwardsville, Mary Miller of Oakland won a four-way battle for the Republican nomination, while Erika Weaver of Mattoon won a four-way contest for the Democrat nomination. Effingham County's Kerry Wolff finished second behind Miller for the Republican nomination.

Mark Curran won the Republican US Senate nomination for the right to battle longtime incumbent Democrat Dick Durbin in November, although he finished second in Effingham County.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden won the Republican and Democrat contests for president in the county, just as they did statewide.

The one referendum was a no-brainer, as the question about whether there should be an effort to see about separating Chicago and Cook County for the remainder of Illinois received a majority of "yes" votes in every precinct in the county. The vote was 5,638 Yes to 2,001 No.