2020 Cook County State's Attorney election
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November 3, 2020
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| Turnout | 72.20% (ballots cast)[a] 67.72% (votes cast)[b] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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 Precinct results Foxx: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% O'Brien: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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_Kim_Foxx_(cropped).jpg)
In the 2020 Cook County, State's Attorney election held on November 3, 2020, incumbent state's attorney Kim Foxx (a Democrat) won reelection to a second term,[3] defeating Republican Pat O'Brien in the general election. Foxx had earlier defeated three opponents in the Democratic primary.
Candidates in the Democratic primary
Incumbent Kim Foxx faced three opponents in the two former Assistant State's Attorneys, Bill Conway and Donna More, and former Chicago alderman Bob Fioretti.
The money spent in the Democratic primary made this the most expensive State's Attorney election in Cook County to date.[4] Conway raised $11.9 million in campaign funds, most of which was from his father William E. Conway's cumulative donations of $10.5 million.[5] Foxx raised $2.8 million, and her biggest donors include Fred Eychaner and the political action committee of SEIU Illinois.[6][Note 1] More raised $406,000 and Fioretti raised $20,000.[7][8][Note 2]
The following candidates ran for the Democratic Party nomination for State's Attorney:
| Candidate | Experience | Campaign | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Bill Conway | Former Navy Intelligence officer Former Cook County Assistant State's Attorney |
Website | [9] |
_(cropped).jpg) |
Bob Fioretti | Former Chicago alderman for the 2nd ward Candidate for Mayor of Chicago in the 2015 and 2019 elections Candidate for Cook County Board President in 2018 Candidate for Illinois State Senate in 2016 |
Website Archived 2020-01-05 at the Wayback Machine | [9] |
_(cropped).png) |
Kim Foxx | Incumbent Former Chief of Staff for Cook County Board President Former Cook County Assistant State's Attorney |
Website | [9] |
|
Donna More | Candidate for Cook County State's Attorney in 2016 Former U.S. Attorney and Cook County Assistant State's Attorney |
Website Archived 2020-02-01 at the Wayback Machine | [9] |
Endorsements for the Democratic primary
Bill Conway
- Organizations
- Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2[10]
- International Union of Elevator Constructors[10]
- Maine Township Democratic Organization[10]
- United Hellenic Voters of America[10]
- Elected officials
- Felix Cardona Jr., Chicago alderman for the 31st ward[10]
- Brian K. Hopkins, Chicago alderman for the 2nd ward[10]
- Ariel Reboyras, Chicago alderman for the 30th ward[10]
- Brendan Reilly, Chicago alderman for the 42nd ward[10]
- Nicholas Sposato, Chicago alderman for the 38th ward[10]
Bob Fioretti
- Organizations
- Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge #7[11]
Kim Foxx
- Newspapers
- Organizations
- Chicago Federation of Labor[13]
- Chicago Teachers Union[14]
- Color of Change[15]
- Cook County Democratic Party[16]
- Democratic Party of Evanston[17]
- Equality Illinois[18]
- Independent Voters of Illinois Independent Precinct Organization[19]
- The People's Lobby[20]
- Personal PAC[13]
- Real Justice PAC[13]
- Reclaim Chicago[21]
- United Working Families[13]
- Wheeling Township Democrats[13]
- Elected officials
- Alma E. Anaya, Cook County Board Commissioner[22]
- Danny K. Davis, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 7th district[23]
- Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Senator for Illinois[23]
- Dick Durbin, U.S. Senator for Illinois[23]
- Edgar González Jr., Illinois State Representative for the 21st district[22]
- Jesús "Chuy" García, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 4th district[22]
- Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator for California and candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary election[24]
- Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator for Minnesota and candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary election[25]
- Daniel La Spata, Chicago alderman for the 1st ward[22]
- Lori Lightfoot, Mayor of Chicago[23]
- Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President[23]
- J. B. Pritzker, Governor of Illinois[23]
- Delia Ramirez, Illinois State Representative for the 4th district[22]
- Michael Rodriguez, Chicago alderman for the 22nd ward[22]
- Bobby Rush, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 1st district[23]
- Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator for Vermont and candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary election[26]
- Jan Schakowsky, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 9th district[23]
- Brad Schneider, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 10th district[27]
- Celina Villanueva, Illinois State Senator for the 11th district[22]
- Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator for Massachusetts and candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary election[28]
- Individuals
- John Legend, musician and activist[29]
Donna More
- Newspapers
Polls for the Democratic primary
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Bill Conway |
Bob Fioretti |
Kim Foxx |
Donna More |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WGN-TV/Emerson College/Nexstar[32][33] | March 11–12, 2020 | 567 | ± 4.1 | 20.3% | 4.3% | 36.3% | 4.8% | 34.2% |
| Ogden & Fry[34] | March 7, 2020 | 466 | ± 4.63 | 31.7% | 9.0% | 48.2% | 11.1% | – |
| 19.5% | 4.2% | 33.0% | 5.8% | 37.5% | ||||
| Anzalone Liszt Grove Research[35] | February 13–16, 2020 | 600 | ± 4.0 | 26% | 5% | 28% | 4% | |
| Anzalone Liszt Grove Research[35] | January 22, 2020 | 16% | 8% | 32% | 5% | |||
| Anzalone Liszt Grove Research[35] | December 8, 2019 | 14% | 11% | 36% | 6% |
Results of the Democratic primary
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kim Foxx (incumbent) | 447,974 | 50.19 | |
| Democratic | Bill Conway | 276,341 | 30.96 | |
| Democratic | Donna More | 122,528 | 13.73 | |
| Democratic | Bob Fioretti | 44,794 | 5.02 | |
| Write-in | Others | 955 | 0.11 | |
| Total votes | 892,592 | 100 | ||
Republican primary
Pat O'Brien defeated Christopher Pfannkuche. Pfannkuche had been the Republican nominee for State's Attorney in 2016.
Candidates in the Republican primary
The following candidates ran for the Republican party nomination for State's Attorney:
| Candidate | Experience | Campaign | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pat O'Brien | Former Judge, Cook County Circuit Court 1st Municipal District | Website | [9] |
| Christopher Pfannkuche | Lawyer | Website | [9] |
- Write-in candidates
- Richard Mayers,[37] > perennial candidate and alleged white supremacist,[38][39][40][41][42][43] write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, Treasurer, and alderman in 2019;[44] congressional candidate in 2000,[42] 2002,[42] 2008,[42] 2016, 2018,[45][46][47] and 2020;[48] 1998 State House candidate;[42] 1993 Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate;[42] write-in candidate for U.S. Senator in 2020;[48] write-in candidate in 2020 Illinois Republican presidential primary[48]
Endorsements for the Republican primary
Pat O'Brien
- Newspapers
Christopher Pfannkuche
Results of the Republican primary
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Patrick W. "Pat" O'Brien | 51,610 | 72.53 | |
| Republican | Christopher E. K. Pfannkuche | 19,122 | 26.87 | |
| Write-in | Richard Mayers | 1 | 0.00 | |
| Write-in | Others | 426 | 0.60 | |
| Total votes | 71,159 | 100 | ||
General election
Polls for the general election
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Kim Foxx |
Pat O'Brien | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ogden & Fry / Cook County Republican Party[A][52][53] | October 18, 2020 | 473 | ± 3.69 | 47.1% | 40.6% | 9.8% |
| Ogden & Fry[54] | September 5, 2020 | 447 | ± 3.77 | 48.1% | 33.8% | 18.1% |
Endorsements for the general election
Kim Foxx (D)
- Organizations
- AFSCME Council 31[55]
- Chicago Federation of Labor[13]
- Chicago Painter's Local 147[55]
- Chicago Teachers Union[14]
- Citizen's Action Illinois[55]
- Color of Change[15]
- Cook County Democratic Party[16]
- Council of Carpenters[55]
- Democratic Party of Evanston[17]
- EMILY's List[55]
- Equality Illinois[18]
- Independent Voters of Illinois Independent Precinct Organization[19]
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters[55]
- The People's Lobby[20]
- Personal PAC[13]
- Real Justice PAC[13]
- Reclaim Chicago[21]
- SEIU Healthcare IL/IN[55]
- SEIU Local 73[55]
- United Working Families[13]
- Wheeling Township Democrats[13]
- Politicians
- Chicago City Council Progressive Reform Caucus, including aldermen Daniel La Spata (1st ward); Sophia King (4); Leslie Hairston (5); Roderick Sawyer (6); Susan Sadlowski Garza (10); Stephanie Coleman (16); David Moore (17); Jeanette Taylor (20); Michael Rodriguez (22); Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25); Chris Taliaferro (29); Rossana Rodríguez-Sánchez (33); Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35); Felix Cardona Jr. (31); Scott Waguespack (32); Andre Vasquez (40); Matt Martin (47); and Maria Hadden (49)[56][22]
- Alma E. Anaya, Cook County Board Commissioner[22]
- Danny K. Davis, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 7th district[23]
- Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Senator for Illinois[23]
- Dick Durbin, U.S. Senator for Illinois[23]
- Edgar González Jr., Illinois State Representative for the 21st district[22]
- Jesús "Chuy" García, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 4th district[22]
- Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator for California and Democratic vice presidential nominee[24]
- Robin Kelly, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 2nd district[55]
- Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator for Minnesota and candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary election[25]
- Lori Lightfoot, Mayor of Chicago[23][57]
- Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President[23]
- J. B. Pritzker, Governor of Illinois[23]
- Delia Ramirez, Illinois State Representative for the 4th district[22]
- Michael Rodriguez, Chicago alderman for the 22nd ward[22]
- Bobby Rush, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 1st district[23]
- Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator for Vermont and candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary election[26]
- Jan Schakowsky, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 9th district[23]
- Brad Schneider, U.S. Representative for Illinois' 10th district[27]
- Celina Villanueva, Illinois State Senator for the 11th district[22]
- Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator for Massachusetts and candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary election[28]
- Individuals
- John Legend, singer and activist[29]
- Newspapers
Pat O'Brien (R)
Results of the general election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kim Foxx (incumbent) | 1,194,299 | 54.21 | −17.85 | |
| Republican | Patrick W. "Pat" O'Brien | 861,108 | 39.08 | +11.14 | |
| Libertarian | Brian Dennehy | 147,769 | 6.71 | N/A | |
| Total votes | 2,203,176 | 100 | |||
Kim Fox's performance 54.21% vote share was the lowest performance by a Democratic nominee in a Cook County state's attorney election since 1996. It was also the worst that a re-nominated incumbent has performed in a general election for Cook County state's attorney since the same election, which saw Republican incumbent Jack O'Malley lose reelection. Conversely, O'Brien's 39.08% share of the vote was the best performance by a Republican since 1996 and Dennehy's 6.71% share of the vote was best performance by as third-party candidate since 1996.
Only Democrats have held this office ever since Richard A. Devine unseated Republican Jack O'Malley.[63]