Democratic incumbents keep 3 state offices

Within an hour of the polls closing on Tuesday night, Jim Dodge, the Republican candidate for Illinois treasurer, conceded to incumbent Democrat Mike Frerichs, in a sign of things to come.

"There is simply no way to sugar coat the results tonight for Republicans across this state," said Dodge, a business consultant from Orland Park. Frerichs, a former Democratic state senator from Champaign who was elected treasurer in 2014, campaigned on his record of initiating programs including giving small-business employees access to a 401(k)-style savings plan, expanding a program to help families of children with disabilities, and making it easier for residents to save for college. With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Frerichs had 2,392,777 votes to 1,658,125 for Dodge. Libertarian Michael Leheney got less than 4 percent of the vote.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, a Democrat who has held that office since 1999, won easily over Republican Jason Helland and Libertarian Steve Dutner. With more than 97 percent of precincts reporting, White was the top vote-getter in the state with 2,887,657 votes to just 1,264,732 for Helland, with Dutner at 106,441.

In the race for comptroller, incumbent Susana Mendoza, a Chicago Democrat, was declared the winner with 2,509,663 votes to just 1,587,581 for Republican Darlene Senger with 97 percent of the precincts counted. Claire Ball, the Libertarian Party candidate, was a distant third. Last week, a leaked video with Mendoza proclaiming herself as a candidate for Chicago mayor fueled speculation that Mendoza would leave the office race to run for mayor, giving Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker the opportunity to appoint another Democrat as comptroller.

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