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WGLT's reporting on the November 2020 election cycle.

Turnout Down In McLean County; Biden Tops Sanders

Biden and Sanders greet
Evan Vucci
/
AP
Former Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, greet one another before they participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate at CNN Studios in Washington on Sunday, March 15, 2020.

McLean County Democrats went for former Vice President Joe Biden in Tuesday’s primary election, as the coronavirus depressed turnout and support for Sen. Bernie Sanders eroded.

Biden led Sanders in McLean County with 53% of the vote with all precincts reporting late Tuesday, according to the McLean County clerk and Bloomington Election Commission. Biden was also declared winner of the overall Illinois primary election.

Sanders won 41% of the vote in McLean County. That’s down from the 62% of the vote he carried in 2016 against Democrat Hillary Clinton. Sanders won 13,008 votes here in 2016. This year he got 7,550.

Overall turnout in McLean County fell to 29%. Here’s how that compares to other recent presidential primary years:

  • 2016: 49.9% (Open nominations for Democrats and GOP)
  • 2012: 26.7% (Obama re-election, open GOP nomination)
  • 2008: 42.6% (Obama first run) 

McLean County Democratic Party chair Erik Rankin said the party is well positioned for the fall with strong fundraising and a cupboard full of quality candidates.
“In this election 75% of the early votes sent in were Democratic voters. What does that tell us? That our bread and butter is getting people to vote early. We're going to hit that super-hard to get people to get out and vote as early as they possibly can so that when things like the coronavirus pop up, it does not become a huge definer of a campaign,” said Rankin.

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Ryan Denham is the digital content director for WGLT.
WGLT Senior Reporter Charlie Schlenker has spent more than three award-winning decades in radio. He lives in Normal with his family.
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