Keeping score in a what's been a spirited primary season so far

Do you give two hoots who endorses whom in an election?

I guarantee the candidates do.

It's been a who's who of high-powered elected officials taking sides in the battle to be McHenry County state's attorney.

A week after Sheriff Keith Nygren endorsed challenger Dan Regna for state's attorney over incumbent Lou Bianchi, Coroner Marlene Lantz is the latest elected county official to back Regna.

"Dan knows the law and is a capable prosecutor," the coroner said. "He is a professional and, above all, is honest and ethical."

It's not a total surprise, since the coroner backed Bianchi's foe in the last election. But what is surprising is the intensity of her disapproval of her fellow Republican.

Citing concern about how the state's attorney handles cases, advises elected officials and treats victims' families she says: "We can't do any worse."

The gloves are officially off, aren't they?

On the other hand

Bianchi could not be reached, but first assistant Tom Carroll said the coroner's move was not a surprise.

"I think it's clear she's connected with the opponents of Lou in this campaign," Tom said, adding he feels the office has "been incredibly receptive to victims' rights."

"You're not going to get everyone's support," he added. "You'd like everyone's, but it isn't going to happen."

The Bianchi camp points to having the support of McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler, 16 board members, Circuit Clerk Bill Kays, Recorder Phyllis Walters, State Sen. Pam Althoff of McHenry, State Rep. Mike Tryon of Crystal Lake, and five mayors and six village presidents.

Not that anyone is keeping score.

Dems or dose?

Lots of people have already voted. And, believe it or not, many of those early voters in very Republican McHenry County have voted Democratic.

It's running almost 50-50 in Algonquin Township, one of eight early voting locations, Clerk Kathie Schultz said.

And a "tremendous" number of Democratic ballots have been pulled at other locations with more than 800 early votes already cast.

Does that mean a GOP county is going Democratic this time? Not necessarily.

Some Republicans just might be crossing over to choose the presidential candidate they feel most vulnerable.

Then again, Kathie said, they're seeing new voters, like the 47-year-old man who is voting for the first time. In fact, she's seen lots of younger voters -- meaning 40s and younger.

Why all the interest? Besides, of course, the fact that in 2000 we had a presidential election and learned every vote does count -- or not, depending on how you viewed the results.

"There's excitement," the longtime county clerk said. "There is no heir apparent. To me, both parties are wide open."

Not too late

Forgot to register? Your absolute last chance is 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Thanks to "grace period" registration, you can register at your county clerk's office, but must also cast your vote at that time. You must be 18 by Election Day, lived at your current address for 30 days, be a U.S. citizen and have two forms of identification with that current address. Come on -- join the fun.

Just a start

There are 188,783 people registered to vote in McHenry County compared to 172,648 registered for the last presidential primary in 2004. That's impressive, but, even more so is the fact that almost 14,000 more voters registered between March and November in 2004. "So look out," Kathie has told her staff.

And they thought they were busy the past month with "astronomical" numbers of registrations. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 228,266 of the county's 312,373 residents (compared to 296,260 residents in 2004) are old enough to vote.

It's hard, by the way, to gauge actual increases in voter registration because vote registration polls are now continually purged to remove people who've died or moved -- no matter what you've heard.

Choose your party

So which ballot will you pull Feb 5? It's going to be quite the dilemma this time for many, including me. Traditionally, if you wanted to have a voice in your local leaders, you had to pull a Republican ballot in many suburban counties. If you want to vote in the heated McHenry County state's attorney race, you'll want to pull a Republican ballot.

But, if you want a voice in the equally spirited Democratic presidential primary, you'll need to pull a Democratic ballot where you won't find many local candidates.

What's a voter to do?