McBride holds off challengers in DuPage board Dist 1 primary

First-term incumbent District 4 DuPage County Board member JR McBride staved off a primary challenge Tuesday by fellow Republican Brad Webb and will face Democrat Tom Wendorf in the November election.

Unofficial results show McBride collected 58 percent of the vote, with all 129 precincts reporting.

Wendorf had an easier time on the Democratic side. That's because his one-time opponent Tom Grimston dropped out of the race in early January leaving Wendorf alone in the campaign for his party's nomination. However, Grimston's name remained on the ballot because they had already been printed when he announced his decision.

Unofficial results from that race show Wendorf earning 63 percent of the vote to Grimston's 37 percent.

The 42-year-old McBride runs an insurance company and 62-year-old Wendorf runs his own company in West Chicago.

McBride is vying for a second term in office and campaigned on his reputation as a freethinker who fought fellow longtime board members on spending issues during the past few budget cycles that would have resulted in more borrowing. He said job creation would be important in the coming years.

Wendorf's foray into politics began last year when he ran unsuccessfully for a post on the College of DuPage board of trustees. He placed fourth in a 10-way race for three seats on that board. Wendorf said his top campaign issue is campaign finance reform and he proposes contribution limits based on the size of the voting bloc.

The winner in November will serve a two-year term before all the seats are up for grabs in 2012 when after the county district maps are redrawn following the census.