33rd state Senate candidate removed from ballot

Cody Holt, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the 33rd state Senate seat, was removed Tuesday from the March primary ballot.

The Illinois State Board of Elections ruled that he did not have enough valid signatures on his petition. It said that after signatures were checked, Holt fell 120 signatures short.

Former St. Charles alderman Rita Payleitner and Patrick Carroll of St. Charles had filed the objection, questioning 225 of the 1,047 signatures Holt submitted. The board agreed that 167 were invalid for various reasons.

He needed a minimum of 1,000 to be on the ballot.

It was one of two objections filed against Holt, who lives in Elgin. The other case was dismissed for want of prosecution. Neither the objector nor his attorney showed up for Tuesday’s hearing, and Holt asked for the case to be dismissed.

Holt was an Elgin Area School District U-46 board member from 2015 to 2017 but lost a bid for re-election. In 2022, he sought the District 19 seat on the Kane County Board. In 2013, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for a seat on the Elgin City Council.

Danielle Penman of St. Charles and Jessica Breugelmans of unincorporated Geneva remain on the Republican primary ballot. The winner will face Democrat Michele Clark in the fall.

The current senator, Don DeWitte of St. Charles, did not seek re-election. The 33rd Senate District includes parts of Kane and McHenry counties and a small portion of DuPage County.