When I first got involved in DuPage politics in 2018, the county Republican party was still dominant. They held virtually all local positions and many Democrats voted in Republican primaries to have a voice. The cracks started to show when Obama won DuPage in the 2008 election, but Democrats only gained substantial power in the 2018 blue tsunami, when Democrats went from 1 seat on the county board to 7. Since 2018, Democrats have consolidated power; flipping the county board in 2020 and defeating a strong Republican candidate for Chairman in 2022. The 2025 township elections were the final blow to DuPage Republican downballot ticket splitting; all 49 Democrats who ran for township positions won their races, many of them outperforming Kamala Harris’ 2024 margins.
A lot has changed since 2018: now Democrats are the entrenched party with a substantial bench of candidates. There are even several races where Democratic incumbents have serious primary challengers.
County Clerk
Clerk Jean Kaczmarek first won the office in the 2018 election, and faces a primary challenge from District 2 county board member Paula Deacon Garcia.
Kaczmarek’s office has faced a myriad of negative headlines about her contentious relationship with the county board and legal disputes. These disputes have overshadowed her work expanding voting access (which she deserves some credit for) and seriously pissed off several Democrats on the county board, who have endorsed Garcia.
Garcia also has the Daily Herald endorsement and is running a more robust campaign than the incumbent; I think Garcia will win.
Last Thursday, the County Clerk’s Facebook page posted a video of Kaczmarek captioned “ICE not allowed at DuPage County polling places!”
….which to me, reeks of desperation trying to appeal to Democratic primary voters with national issues (regardless of the issue’s merits).
Sheriff
Sheriff James Mendrick is running for Governor in the Republican primary, leaving his seat open.
Democrats avoided a primary when one of their candidates dropped out. The GOP primary has gotten very nasty between undersheriff Eddie Moore and police officer and former county board member Sean Noonan, with Noonan accusing Moore of past ethical issues. Whoever wins the nomination will probably have a tough time keeping the office in Republican hands.
County Board
12 out of 18 county board seats are up for election this year.
There are a few races on the Democratic side worth mentioning.
Republican incumbent Sam Tornatore is retiring in northeast DuPage District 1, leaving a pickup opportunity for Democrats in a tough district that’s probably the most red in the county. 3 candidates are running in the Democratic primary to replace him; Brewpoint Coffee owner Melissa Villanueva, 2024 nominee and COD trustee Maria Sinkule, and Bensenville trustee Nicholas Panicola.
I mention this race because Panicola seems suspiciously *a little bit* like a Republican plant. He doesn’t have much history of involvement with local Democrats, and recently started sending mailers attacking Villanueva. At the least, he’s running a campaign somewhat disconnected from local Democrats (though he has attended some of their events).
District 2 has 2 contested primaries for open seats, with Paula Deacon Garcia leaving to run for Clerk and Yeena Yoo running for Treasurer against Republican incumbent Gwen Henry.
Running as a Democrat in District 4 is Paula McGowen, who ran several times as a Republican before switching parties to run for Milton Township Trustee.
Sadia Covert, a Democrat who was first elected in 2018 representing District 5 (Naperville area) faces a credible challenge from Naperville city councilmember Ian Holzauer.
Covert has sometimes had a fractured relationship with her Democratic colleagues (check out news articles from early in her term), but now is endorsed by several local elected officials. Holzauer’s campaign has also gone negative against Covert in mailings.
Running in the District 6 Democratic primary is former board member Laurie Nowak, who was endorsed by the Daily Herald in her comeback bid against appointed incumbent Melissa Martinez (who took Sheila Rutledge’s seat when she became Winfield Township Supervisor).
State Representative Primaries
State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit is retiring from her seat, the Aurora based 84th district, to run for State Comptroller. Two Democrats are running to replace her: Jared Ploger and District 5 county board member Saba Haider. Ploger has criticized Haider for receiving a bunch of beneficial spending from gambling-associated PACs.
State Rep. Terra Costa Howard of the 42nd district, a Glen Ellyn Democrat who flipped the seat in the 2018 wave, resigned to become a judge. School board member Margaret DeLaRosa was appointed to replace her, but faces a serious primary challenge from district 4 county board member Lynn LaPlante. LaPlante narrowly lost a race to powerful county board chairman Dan Cronin in 2018 before being elected to the county board in 2020.
LaPlante has criticized DeLaRosa for voting in Republican primaries in the past, and has tried to run as a more progressive candidate.
Comptroller- Democratic Primary
State Comptroller Susana Mendoza (D) isn’t running for re-election (ahead of a likely Chicago mayoral run). 4 strong Democrats are running to replace her, including 2 who represent parts of DuPage in the legislature: Rep. Stephanie Kifowit and Sen. Karina Villa.
State Rep. Margaret Croke of Chicago has some advantages in the race; she’s well-funded, running TV ads, and importantly has the endorsement of the Cook County Democrats and Governor Pritzker; she’s essentially the machine candidate.
Villa is also a contender, has been running TV ads and trying to run in the progressive lane, touting the endorsements of politicians like Bernie Sanders and Chuy Garcia.
Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim is running with the endorsement of Mendoza, who says Kim will be an independent watchdog able to criticize Democrats who control state government (unlike Croke).
Governor- Republican Primary
2022 nominee, former State Senator and State Rep. Darren Bailey is the heavy favorite to win the Republican primary (and lose by a large margin to the Governor in November).
Wirepoints writer Ted Dabrowski seemed to me like a strong candidate when he entered the race, but Bailey seems likely to easily win the primary based on name recognition from his last run (despite not spending a lot of money).
Bailey has come under indirect criticism from the DuPage GOP on Facebook several times in posts thanking the other 3 Republican candidates for “attending every debate and major event in DuPage County”.
Also very notable: DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick was the first Republican to announce a campaign, but hasn’t spent a lot of money building name recognition and seems likely to come in 3rd or 4th place (perhaps better in DuPage). He’s running a clearly conservative campaign, not at all trying to distance himself from MAGA.
If Mendrick had run for re-election, he would have had a tough time winning. Kamala Harris won DuPage 56-43%, ticket splitting has become less prevalent, and it’s going to be a blue midterm year. The other Republican countywide officeholder, Treasurer Gwen Henry, may have a tough time in November.
Congressional
There are a slew of interesting congressional primaries across the Chicagoland area. Raja Krishnamoorthi is finally putting his massive campaign bank account to use, leaving the 8th district open to run for U.S. Senate. IL-8 covers part of Northern DuPage and has several notable candidates running. The frontrunner seems to be former Rep. Melissa Bean, who lost to Joe Walsh in the 2010 Republican wave. Bean seems to be barely engaging with local Democratic groups, and relying on big spending from AIPAC and corporate interests. 2022 candidate Junaid Ahmed also has a chance: he’s running from the left and has notable progressive endorsements.
The majority-Latino 4th district, which contains part of eastern DuPage, should have been a wide-open primary field…
But incumbent Rep. Chuy Garcia withdrew his candidacy right before the filing deadline, ensuring his chief of staff Patty Garcia would be the only Democrat on the ballot. Several Democrats are running as Independents in November (including far-left Chicago alderman Byron Sigcho Lopez), but Garcia is the favorite.
Many local Democrats reacted to this situation poorly; instead of condemning Garcia’s actions, many people came to his defense or accepted his endorsement. Only 2 Illinois Democrats voted to censure Rep. Garcia in an official vote (Reps Eric Sorensen and Bill Foster).
DuPage Politics 