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McLean County voters will have plenty of choices on the ballot in 2020, as even more candidates jumped into local and state races before Monday’s filing deadline.
At least 8 of 10 McLean County Board races will be contested in November, plus three primaries in March, according to a list of candidate filings posted by the McLean County clerk. Only Republican incumbents Catherine Metsker and Josh Barnett are currently unopposed for re-election.
Two Libertarian candidates filed to run for County Board on Monday. Darin Kaeb of Bloomington, an Army National Guard veteran who works at Marcfirst, is running in District 7 in near east Bloomington. That seat is currently held by Republican Jacob Beard, who is seeking re-election. Democrat Val Laymon is also running.
Libertarian David Scarpelli of Normal is running in District 6, which includes Illinois State University. Scarpelli is a live-in house director for an ISU fraternity. Democrat George Gordon, a longtime board member and retired ISU professor, is running for re-election in that district. He’s also facing a primary challenge from Democrat Hannah Beer, an ISU student.
Libertarian Kevin Woodard previously announced a run for county auditor.
“We ran too many candidates in 2018,” McLean County Libertarian Party chair Steve Suess said in a statement Monday. “Every candidate was essentially a campaign team of one. In 2020, we will be pouring all of our resources into a few offices, specifically the county auditor’s race. We’re not satisfied just being on the ballot; we’re here to win.”
There will be a Republican primary in District 4, which includes northwest Normal. Republican Adelita Cruz previously announced a run to succeed GOP incumbent Bill Caisley, who is not seeking another term and has endorsed Cruz. But Republican Steve Harsh has now also filed, setting up a primary against Cruz.
Republicans hold a 13-7 majority on the County Board. For Democrats to win control, they’d have to protect two currently Democratic seats (Gordon’s in District 6 and Carlo Robustelli’s in District 8) and also win four of five seats now held by Republicans.
Three of four countywide offices up for election in 2020 will be contested: auditor, circuit clerk, and coroner. But Republican State’s Attorney Don Knapp has not yet drawn any opposition. Knapp was appointed to the job in August 2018 after his predecessor, Jason Chambers, became a judge.
In the Statehouse, state Rep. Dan Brady’s two challengers filed their petitions Monday.
Republican David Paul Blumenshine will face Brady again in March, in a rematch of their 2018 GOP primary that Brady won handily. The winner will face Democrat Chemberly Cummings, a Normal Town Council member, who also filed her petitions Monday. In a Nov. 17 tweet, Cummings suggested she wasn’t going to be able to make the ballot.
The primary election is March 17. That’s 106 days away.
