Despite their bid to reverse it, local Republicans fell further into “super-duper” minority status in Cook County government Monday as the sole GOP candidate still in the running to serve on the County Board admitted defeat. His loss flips a seat that had been red for a quarter century to blue, and leaves the head of the Cook County GOP as the sole Republican on the board.
It was the latest in a sweep of Republican losses across Illinois following last week’s general election, leaving the state party reeling. Similar bids to take back countywide offices from Democrats also failed Tuesday.
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In a Facebook post from his campaign account on Monday afternoon, pollster and logistics manager Matt Podgorski, the GOP candidate for the Cook County Board’s 9th District, said even though he was leading the race by less than 200 votes, it was “almost a statistical certainty” that he would fall behind because “Democrats are winning about 75% of mail-in votes.”
“Although I am disappointed by the results, I am very grateful for all of the friends and acquaintances made over the last 12 months,” he said in the post. “The voters chose their county commissioner. I support their choice and will do anything I can to help our elected officials succeed in serving the public interest.”
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His opponent, Democrat Maggie Trevor, took the lead Tuesday afternoon by about 500 votes. Podgorski acknowledged his defeat to the Tribune Tuesday.
Unofficial election returns show Podgorski was winning near his political base: Chicago’s Northwest Side, where he serves as the head of the local Republican organization. The area is home to many of the city’s police and firefighters. While Northwest Side Republicans have largely been supportive of former President Donald Trump, Podgorski’s campaign sought to appeal to more moderate voters: He touted his support from labor groups and for the Worker’s Rights Amendment, and did not discuss abortion on the trail, instead focusing on crime.
According to unofficial returns, Trevor, a market researcher, defeated him in the suburbs, which make up the bulk of the district. She had considerable help from the Cook County Democratic Party, and ran on expanding abortion services at county-run clinics, gun control and hyperlocal issues like transportation.
Podgorski’s apparent defeat leaves Sean Morrison as the only Republican on the 17-member board that oversees the county’s courts, jail and hospital system, as well as its nearly $9 billion budget.
Two other Democrats considered somewhat vulnerable — Scott Britton and Kevin Morrison — also battled back Republican challengers.
And Democrats also held County Board seats being vacated: Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Josina Morita will replace retiring County Board Commissioner Larry Suffredin; Anthony Joel Quezada, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, defeated Commissioner Luis Arroyo in the primary and ran unopposed last week; and Monica Gordon won the race to replace retiring Commissioner Deborah Sims.
