McLean County Democrats weigh-in on the upcoming election
Written by Colleen Holden on October 29, 2024
Image Courtesy of the McLean County Democrat’s official website
NORMAL, Ill. McLean County is a historically right-leaning area in an unwavering blue state. This juxtaposition leaves organizations like the McLean County Democrats in an interesting position come election season.
Patrick Cortesi is the chair of the McLean County Democrats. He explained what the organization hopes to see after the final ballot is cast, and the political climate of McLean County as a whole.
“Obviously we’re trying to get as many democrats elected as possible,” Cortesi said. “We would love to go for President Kamala Harris … we would like to send Dave Koehler and Sharon Chung back to Springfield [ and] we’d like to reelect Eric Sorenson as our Congress person in Washington.”
Should McLean County’s votes favor Vice President Kamala Harris, it would only be the third time in the County’s history a democratic candidate has won the majority vote in the presidential election according to Cortesi’s calculations. Cortesi began speculating why the area may be turning blue following the results of the 2022 Gubernatorial election.
“In 2022, J.B. Pritzker won McLean County for the first time since 1948 by about 750 votes,” Cortesi said. “On election day, a little over 1,000 students registered and voted… now I’m sure they didn’t all vote for J.B. Pritzker but i bet a good portion of them did.”
Cortesi believes the younger voters who are causing a swap in which candidate wins the county are less concerned with the candidates themselves and more concerned with their stance on polarizing issues. He listed the issues the McLean County Democrats care about as an organization endorsing all democratic nominees.
“Right now, we’re all about women’s rights. That’s kind of up front and center,” Cortesi said. “That’s something we’ve been fighting for for some time, but it really seems to be taking the headlines. I think when we talk about economic issues, especially for the younger generation
As temporary residents of McLean County, it can be hard for students to feel inclined to care about more local races in the midst of a presidential election. Cortesi explained how smaller scale races can have a direct impact on the student experience.
“Currently, ISU gets the worst funding of all the state schools,” Cortesi said. “They’re far and away the least funded so I think it would be important to send Dave Koehler and Sharon Chung back to Springfield so they can work on this issue and try and bring back some funding.”
CNN has Harris polling 7 points ahead of former President Donald Trump with 93 votes still up for grabs.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Cortesi said. “I do think it’s going to be close. As excited as we are about what’s happening here on campus, what’s happening in Bloomington and in Normal, it still remains that outside of the metro area it’s still pretty rural and conservative.”
Early voting will be available in the Bone Student Center until Nov. 1. The polls will be open on election day from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
