Tazewell County Board vice chairman Mike Harris is expected to keep his seat as a District 3 representative, barring a recount.
Totals from the March 19 Republican primary updated Monday on the county’s election results website showed Harris with 1,763 votes for a nine-vote advantage over fellow incumbent Tammy Rich Stimson.
The two were behind newcomer Eric Schmidgall and incumbent Bill Atkins in the four-way race for three openings. With no Democrats expected to run for the seats in November, the GOP primary winners are expected to claim the seats.
The race was too-close-to-call on Election Night, with Stimson holding a one-vote lead over Harris. Monday’s results were unchanged from a Wednesday update posted on Facebook. A spokesperson with the county clerk's elections department says a final canvas on Monday produced no additional ballots.
Attempts to contact Stimson and Harris for comment Monday were not successful.
Since Illinois does not have a threshold for triggering an automatic recount, a candidate would have to ask for one. The elections department spokesperson said the office has not received any requests for a recount.
Schmidgall and presumptive board chair Brett Grimm are expected to join Eric Stahl, Cathryn Stump and Ralph Milam as new board members. Stahl and Stump joined recently-appointed member Jon Hopkins in topping the District 2 election, while Milam and incumbent Jay Hall and Milam were the only two candidates for three seats, leaving one vacancy.
The final results are scheduled to be certified Tuesday, which is 14 days after the election.
