Kane County clerk GOP primary features longtime incumbent and challenger who wants term limits

The longtime clerk in Kane County is trying to fend off a primary challenge from a fellow Republican who advocates for term limits.

Kane County Clerk John "Jack" Cunningham is seeking his sixth term in office. Geneva attorney Doug Warlick, who has served as vice chairman of the Geneva Township Republican Central Committee for the last five years, also is seeking his party's nomination for the job.

Cunningham said there are projects he wants to see through to completion, including opening a satellite office in Elgin and introducing new voter equipment.

He said the clerk's office has installed cameras in the vote-by-mail processing room and scanned thousands of vote-by-mail ballots for public review. Cunningham says he wants to continue to make Kane County "the most transparent election authority in Illinois."

"I've always taken election security very seriously," Cunningham wrote in a candidate questionnaire.

Warlick said he would work to ensure voters have confidence in the electoral process.

"Whether or not you believe problems exist within our election process, every voter is entitled to have faith in the system and confidence that his or her vote counted," he wrote in a candidate questionnaire.

Warlick advocated for term limits and vowed to serve no more than two terms to allow the continual flow of fresh ideas in the county clerk's office. Cunningham has been in office for 20 years.

The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Nicolas "Nico" Jimenez in the November election. Jimenez, a quality assurance manager from Elburn, lost to Cunningham in 2018.