# 2018 Cook County Board of Commissioners election

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

Cook County Board of Commissioners 1st district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Brandon Johnson | 24,863 | 50.44 |
| | Democratic | Richard Boykin (incumbent) | 24,426 | 49.56 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 49,289 | 100 |

#### Republican

Only write-in candidates ran in the Republican primary. No certified write-in received enough votes to win the nomination.
Cook County Board of Commissioners 1st district Republican primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Write-in | Others | 74 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 74 | 100 |

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 1st district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Brandon Johnson | 88,590 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 88,590 | 100 |

## 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

Cook County Board of Commissioners 2nd district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Dennis Deer (incumbent) | 11,522 | 32.59 |
| | Democratic | Eddie Johnson III | 7,482 | 21.16 |
| | Democratic | Darryl D. Smith | 6,824 | 19.30 |
| | Democratic | Lupe Aguirre | 5,353 | 15.14 |
| | Democratic | Paul J. Montes II | 3,976 | 11.25 |
| | Write-in | Others | 196 | 0.55 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 35,353 | 100 |

#### Republican

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

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 2nd district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Dennis Deer (incumbent) | 78,380 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 78,380 | 100 |

## 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

Cook County Board of Commissioners 3rd district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Bill Lowry | 17,814 | 33.29 |
| | Democratic | Patricia Horton | 11,518 | 21.52 |
| | Democratic | Charise A. Williams | 9,373 | 17.51 |
| | Democratic | Joshua Gray | 5,145 | 9.61 |
| | Democratic | Horace "Washington" Howard | 4,774 | 8.92 |
| | Democratic | Steven R. Wolfe | 4,124 | 7.71 |
| | Democratic | Erick M. Nickerson | 769 | 1.44 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 53,517 | 100 |

#### Republican

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

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 3rd district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Bill Lowry | 101,576 | 89.57 |
| | Republican | George Blakemore | 11,834 | 10.43 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 113,410 | 100 |

## 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

Cook County Board of Commissioners 4th district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Stanley S. Moore (incumbent) | 24,117 | 48.11 |
| | Democratic | Maria M. Barlow | 17,951 | 35.81 |
| | Democratic | Marcel Bright | 4,730 | 9.44 |
| | Democratic | Gaylon Alcaraz | 3,326 | 6.64 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 50,124 | 100 |

#### Republican

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

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 4th district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Stanley S. Moore (incumbent) | 88,736 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 88,736 | 100 |

## 5th district

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

### Primaries
#### Democratic

Cook County Board of Commissioners 5th district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Deborah Sims (incumbent) | 33,790 | 76.69 |
| | Democratic | Timothy "Tim" Parker | 6,732 | 15.28 |
| | Democratic | Audrey Lynn Tanksley | 3,427 | 7.78 |
| | Write-in | Others | 113 | 0.26 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 44,062 | 100 |

#### Republican

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

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 5th district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Deborah Sims (incumbent) | 81,711 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 81,711 | 100 |

## 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.
Cook County Board of Commissioners 6th district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Donna Miller | 17,907 | 43.38 |
| | Democratic | Patricia Joan Murphy | 16,762 | 40.61 |
| | Democratic | Louis Presta | 6,611 | 16.02 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 41,280 | 100 |

#### Republican

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

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 6th district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Donna Miller | 82,556 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 82,556 | 100 |

## 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

Cook County Board of Commissioners 7th district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Alma E. Anaya | 14,159 | 56.85 |
| | Democratic | Angeles Sandoval | 10,664 | 42.81 |
| | Write-in | Others | 85 | 0.34 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 24,908 | 100 |

#### Republican

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

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 7th district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Alma E. Anaya | 41,759 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 41,759 | 100 |

## 8th district

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

### Primaries
#### Democratic

Cook County Board of Commissioners 8th district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Luis Arroyo Jr. (incumbent) | 30,512 | 99.11 |
| | Write-in | Others | 273 | 0.89 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 30,785 | 100 |

#### Republican

Cook County Board of Commissioners 8th district Republican primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Walter Zarnecki | 1,253 | 67.80 |
| | Republican | Renne "Tex" Chavez | 595 | 32.20 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,848 | 100 |

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 8th district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Luis Arroyo Jr. (incumbent) | 73,296 | 89.29 |
| | Republican | Walter Zarnecki | 8,792 | 10.71 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 82,088 | 100 |

## 9th district

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

### Primaries
#### Democratic

Cook County Board of Commissioners 9th district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Frank L. McPartlin | 28,673 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 28,673 | 100 |

#### Republican

Cook County Board of Commissioners 9th district Republican primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Peter N. Silvestri (incumbent) | 13,988 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 13,988 | 100 |

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 9th district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Peter N. Silvestri (incumbent) | 55,612 | 52.24 |
| | Democratic | Frank L. McPartlin | 50,839 | 47.76 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 106,451 | 100 |

## 10th district

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

### Primaries
#### Democratic

Cook County Board of Commissioners 10th district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Bridget Gainer (incumbent) | 37,529 | 74.22 |
| | Democratic | Mary Ann Kosiak | 13,034 | 25.78 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 50,563 | 100 |

#### Republican

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

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 10th district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Bridget Gainer (incumbent) | 113,803 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 113,803 | 100 |

## 11th district

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

### Primaries
#### Democratic

Cook County Board of Commissioners 11th district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John P. Daley (incumbent) | 44,236 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 44,236 | 100 |

#### Republican

Cook County Board of Commissioners 11th district Republican primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Steven S. Graves | 3,381 | 51.70 |
| | Republican | Carl Segvich | 3,159 | 48.30 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 6,540 | 100 |

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 11th district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John P. Daley (incumbent) | 71,997 | 73.56 |
| | Republican | Steven S. Graves | 25,872 | 26.44 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 97,869 | 100 |

## 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

Cook County Board of Commissioners 12th district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Bridget Degnen | 23,703 | 55.36 |
| | Democratic | John Fritchey (incumbent) | 19,113 | 44.64 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 42,816 | 100 |

#### Republican

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

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 12th district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Bridget Degnen | 93,561 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 93,561 | 100 |

## 13th district

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

### Primaries
#### Democratic

Cook County Board of Commissioners 13th district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Larry Suffredin (incumbent) | 30,009 | 57.00 |
| | Democratic | Bushra Amiwala | 13,988 | 26.57 |
| | Democratic | Daniel Foster | 8,653 | 16.43 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 52,650 | 100 |

#### Republican

Cook County Board of Commissioners 13th district Republican primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Chris J. Hanusiak | 6,708 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 6,708 | 100 |

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 13th district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Larry Suffredin (incumbent) | 95,500 | 77.54 |
| | Republican | Chris J. Hanusiak | 27,662 | 22.46 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 123,162 | 100 |

## 14th district

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

### Primaries
#### Democratic

Cook County Board of Commissioners 14th district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Scott R. Britton | 26,728 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 26,728 | 100 |

#### Republican

Cook County Board of Commissioners 14th district Republican primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Gregg Goslin (incumbent) | 15,330 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 15,330 | 100 |

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 14th district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Scott R. Britton | 62,792 | 54.19 |
| | Republican | Gregg Goslin (incumbent) | 53,079 | 45.81 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 115,871 | 100 |

## 15th district

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

### Primaries
#### Democratic

Cook County Board of Commissioners 15th district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Kevin B. Morrison | 11,756 | 50.02 |
| | Democratic | Ravi Raju | 11,746 | 49.98 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 23,502 | 100 |

#### Republican

Cook County Board of Commissioners 15th district Republican primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Timothy Owen Schneider (incumbent) | 13,157 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 13,157 | 100 |

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 15th district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Kevin B. Morrison | 52,807 | 54.93 |
| | Republican | Timothy Owen Schneider (incumbent) | 43,331 | 45.07 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 96,138 | 100 |

## 16th district

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

### Primaries
#### Democratic

Cook County Board of Commissioners 16th district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Jeff Tobolski (incumbent) | 22,117 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 22,117 | 100 |

#### Republican

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

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 16th district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Jeff Tobolski (incumbent) | 54,322 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 54,322 | 100 |

## 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

Cook County Board of Commissioners 17th district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Abdelnasser Rashid | 29,154 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 29,154 | 100 |

#### Republican

Cook County Board of Commissioners 17th district Republican primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Sean M. Morrison (incumbent) | 16,189 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 16,189 | 100 |

### General election

Cook County Board of Commissioners 17th district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Sean M. Morrison (incumbent) | 61,572 | 50.57 |
| | Democratic | Abdelnasser Rashid | 60,195 | 49.43 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 121,767 | 100 |

## Summarizing statistics

Contest summary :
| Party | Seats held before | Seats contested |
| Democratic | 13 | 17 |
| Republican | 4 | 8 |
Vote summary :
| Party | Popular vote | Seats won |
| Democratic | 1,292,420 (81.79%) | 15 |
| Republican | 287,854 (18.22%) | 2 |
| Total | 1,580,274 | — |
Fate of incumbents :
| Party | Total incumbents | Incumbents that sought reelection/retired | Incumbents that won/lost re-nomination in primaries | Incumbents that won/lost general election |
| Democratic | 13 | 10 sought reelection 3 retired | 8 won re-nomination 2 lost renomination | 8 won 0 lost |
| Republican | 4 | 4 sought reelection 0 retired | 4 won re-nomination 0 lost renomination | 2 won 2 lost |
Composition of elected board (returning/newly elected members) :
| Party | Returning members | Newly elected members |
| Democratic | 8 | 7 |
| Republican | 2 | 0 |