GOP's Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran notches easy win against Democrat Patt

Republican Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran withstood a tough campaign from Democratic challenger Jason Patt to secure four more years in his job.

With all 415 precincts counted late Tuesday, Curran took home 114,268 votes, unofficial totals show. Patt received 75,651 tallies.

All votes remain unofficial until provisional ballots are counted within the next two weeks, and the results are canvassed by the Lake County Board.

Curran, a 51-year-old Republican from Libertyville, said he looks forward to continuing in his law-enforcement career to combat "the changing face of evil." He said the sheriff's office is poised to move forward with a quality management team that includes Undersheriff Raymond J. Rose.

"I worked very hard," Curran said. "I'm out in the community. We've been responsive to the community, and we're doing what we can to keep Lake County safe."

Patt, 36, of Zion, who didn't return a message seeking comment, took the election to Curran since he was chosen as the Democratic challenger after beating out John Krempotic of North Chicago in the April primary. During the campaign, Patt consistently criticized Curran for his handling of sexual discrimination and wrongful death lawsuits.

He also criticized Curran for having what he said were too many high-ranking officers and not enough deputies on the street.

Curran argued that Patt, a U.S. Naval veteran and investigator with the Lake County Coroner's Office, lacked management experience.

"They ran a nasty campaign," Curran said of Patt.

A former Lake County prosecutor who also worked as a defense attorney, Curran was a Democrat when he defeated former Sheriff Gary Del Re in 2006. He later became a Republican and was re-elected to the position in 2012 by defeating Democrat Douglas Roberts, a defense lawyer.