Incumbent judges leading in races for three McHenry County judicial vacancies

Incumbents were leading Wednesday in each of the three races for McHenry County judicial vacancies, according to unofficial election results.

Just over 161,000 McHenry County registered voters cast ballots so far this election and as many as 18,000 mail-in ballots could still be returned, according to the McHenry County Clerk's Office.

Sitting judge David Gervais was on track to beat out his opponent, Elizabeth "Beth" Vonau, D-Crystal Lake, with 56% of votes as of Wednesday morning.

"Our campaign has proven that voters want experienced and qualified judges," Gervais said in an email. "Protecting equal access to justice for all has been my goal since I became an attorney and especially when I was appointed to the bench. As someone who has called McHenry County home since I was a boy, this is the honor of a lifetime!"

The candidates each were campaigning to fill the vacancy left by retired judge Michael Caldwell. Gervais was appointed in February 2018 to fill Caldwell's seat but would need to be elected to keep the judgeship.

The same is true for sitting judges Justin Hansen and Mark Gerhardt, who ran for third and fourth subcircuit vacancies, respectively.

Hansen and Gerhardt were leading in their races as of Wednesday morning. Hansen, R-Crystal Lake, garnered 55.3% of votes over his opponent Jeannie Ridings, D-Crystal Lake, who had 44.8% of votes, according to unofficial results.

"During this last year, the support our campaign received from the voters and families in McHenry County has been humbling," Hansen said in an email. "I’m pleased that voters supported my public service and my integrity, both on the bench and in our community. I look forward to continuing my work as a Circuit Judge, to continuing to work to improve our judicial system, and to serve our community’s most vulnerable citizens."

In the race for the fourth subcircuit vacancy, Gerhardt, R-Lakewood, had 53.6% of votes as of Wednesday morning. His opponent, Kimberly Crum Klein, D-Lake in the Hills, was behind with 46.4% of votes, according to unofficial results.

Hansen also was on track to win his race against challenger Jeannie Ridings, D-Crystal Lake. As of Wednesday morning, Hansen was leading with 55.25% of votes, unofficial results show.

Vonau, Ridings and Crum Klein have said they will refrain from making public statements until all ballots are counted.

As of 10 p.m. Tuesday, nearly 158,000 ballots had been counted and the results released online. Those ballots included those cast in-person early or on Election Day or those sent by mail that had been received by end of the day Monday.

All mail-in ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 are eligible to be counted, County Clerk Joe Tirio said in an interview last week. The election's final results in McHenry County will be communicated on Nov. 18.