Oak Park voters turned out in full force for governor-elect J.B. Pritzker in Tuesday’s midterm election, sending over four-fifths of their votes to the Democratic challenger.
Pritzker won the statewide election, defeating incumbent Republican Bruce Rauner, with 54.2 percent of the votes cast in Illinois, compared to 39.2 percent for Rauner.
In Oak Park, however, Pritzker won by 81.58 percent of the vote, taking 21,830 of the 26,760 votes cast and defeating Rauner in every one of the village’s 37 precincts.
Rauner won 4,115 votes – 15.37 percent – of the votes cast in Oak Park.
Libertarian Grayson “Kash” Jackson and Conservative Party candidate William McCann earned just over a combined 3 percent of the vote in the village.
Oak Park voters were also more motivated to turn out for the midterm election, with 69 percent of registered voters in Oak Park casting ballots. In 2014, Oak Park’s voter turnout was 60.4 percent.
Pritzker also won by a wide margin in River Forest, taking 61.13 percent of the 5,429 votes cast for governor. He also won in all but one of the village’s eight precincts – the 2nd – where he was defeated by two votes.
River Forest voters were also more fired up in this election, compared to the last midterm. This year, 67.4 percent of the village’s 8,187 registered voters cast ballots, compared to 59.47 percent of the 7,436 registered voters in 2014.
tim@oakpark.com
