2020 Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court election
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In the 2020 Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court election was held on November 3, 2020. Democratic nominee Iris Martinez was elected to succeed outgoing fifth-term clerk Dorothy A. Brown, a Democrat who did not seek re-election.[3]
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November 3, 2020
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| Turnout | 65.22%[1][2] | |||||||||||||||
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Background
The incumbent fifth-term clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Dorothy Brown, announced in 2019 that she would not run for re-election.[4] Brown had been the subject of a federal corruption investigation when she made the announcement.[4]
The last Republican to hold this office was Brown's immediate predecessor Aurelia Pucinski, who, while elected a Democrat in each of her elections to the office, had switched parties in her final term.[5][6]
The election was a component of the 2020 Cook County, Illinois, elections. It coincided with the 2020 United States presidential election (including its primaries, which coincided with Illinois's Democratic, Republican presidential primaries), as well as the 2020 Illinois elections.
Democratic primary
Candidates for Democratic primary
The following candidates ran for the Democratic Party nomination for Clerk of the Circuit Court:
| Candidate | Experience | Campaign | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Michael Cabonargi | Member of Cook County Board of Review for the 2nd district | Website | [7] |
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Richard Boykin | Former member of Cook County Board of Commissioners for the 1st district | Website | [7] |
|
Iris Martinez | Illinois State Senator for the 20th district | Website | [7] |
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Jacob Meister | Civil rights lawyer Candidate for Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court in 2016 Candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010 |
Website Archived 2020-02-01 at the Wayback Machine | [4][7] |
- Withdrew
- Theresa Siaw, candidate for 29th ward alderman in 2019[8]
- Mariyana Spyropoulos, member of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Board of Commissioners[8]
- Todd Stroger, former president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners –withdrew amid challenge to his ballot petitions[9]
Endorsements in Democratic primary
- Newspapers
- Organizations
- Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge #7[11]
- Elected officials
- Dorothy A. Brown, incumbent Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court[12]
- Danny K. Davis, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 7th district[4]
- Individuals
- Christopher G. Kennedy, Democratic candidate for Governor of Illinois in 2018[13]
- Newspapers
- Organizations
- Elected officials
- Dick Durbin, United States Senator[12]
- Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President[4]
- Jan Schakowsky, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 9th district[4]
- Jesse White, Illinois Secretary of State[12]
- Newspapers
- Organizations
- Chicago NOW PAC[17]
- LGBTQ Victory Fund[17]
- Northside Democracy for America[4]
- Southside Democracy for America[17]
- Elected officials
- James Cappleman, alderman for Chicago's 46th ward[17]
- Maria Hadden, alderman for Chicago's 49th ward[17]
- Theresa Mah, Illinois State Representative for the 2nd district[17]
- David Orr, former Cook County Clerk[17]
- Andre Thapedi, Illinois State Representative for the 32nd district[17]
- Scott Waguespack, alderman for Chicago's 32nd ward[17]
Polls for Democratic primary
Campaign of Democratic primary
All four candidates in the Democratic Party primary for the office pledged to modernize the office and to address corruption.[18][19]
Results of Democratic primary
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Iris Y. Martinez | 269,578 | 33.67 | |
| Democratic | Michael M. Cabonargi | 216,180 | 27.00 | |
| Democratic | Richard R. Boykin | 199,526 | 24.92 | |
| Democratic | Jacob Meister | 113,855 | 14.22 | |
| Write-in | Others | 1,511 | 0.19 | |
| Total votes | 800,650 | 100 | ||
Republican primary
Candidates for Republican primary
The following candidates ran for the Republican party nomination for Clerk of the Circuit Court:
| Candidate | Experience | Campaign | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbara Ruth Bellar | Candidate for Illinois State Senate in 2012 Candidate for Illinois House of Representatives in 2010 |
[7] |
- Write-in candidates
- Richard Mayers,[21] perennial candidate and alleged white supremacist,[22][23][24][25][26][27] write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, Treasurer, and alderman in 2019;[28] congressional candidate in 2000,[26] 2002,[26] 2008,[26] 2016, 2018,[29][30][31] and 2020;[32] 1998 State House candidate;[26] 1993 Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate;[26] write-in candidate for U.S. Senator in 2020;[32] write-in candidate in 2020 Illinois Republican presidential primary[32]
Results of Republican primary
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Barbara Bellar | 64,160 | 99.42 | |
| Write-in | Richard Mayers | 1 | 0.00 | |
| Write-in | Others | 374 | 0.58 | |
| Total votes | 64,535 | 100 | ||
General election
Endorsements in general election
- Newspapers
Results of general election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Iris Y. Martinez | 1,549,615 | 73.03 | +4.81 | |
| Republican | Barbara Bellar | 572,169 | 26.97 | −4.81 | |
| Total votes | 2,121,784 | 100 | |||
Martinez's 73.03% share of the vote was the most that any candidate had received for this office since the 2004. Bellar's 26.97% vote share was the worst performance by a major party (Democratic or Republican) nominee since that same election.