Thousands Of Write-In Votes Made Against Mike Madigan

CHICAGO, IL - His name was all over television commercials throughout the month before the election, but not many may know that it was also on the ballot for some Chicagoland voters on Tuesday. Mike Madigan was officially unopposed in the race for Democratic State Central Committeeman in Illinois' 3rd Congressional District, but that didn't stop "write-in" from having a strong showing.

Nearly 10,000 write-in votes were made in the 3rd District race, which includes voters from parts of the city of Chicago and portions of suburban Cook, Will and DuPage counties.

Madigan may have been officially been unopposed, but at least one political rival made every attempt to get on the ballot. When it was finally ruled that his name would not be included after a petition objection, Mount Greenwood resident Mateusz "Mat" Tomkowiak launched a write-in campaign.

Tomkowiak was the only eligible write-in candidate in the race and considers all write-in votes counted to be his. Data on the number of tallies that includes Tomkowiak's name was not immediately available.

"I think a message has been sent," said Tomkowiak, a Polish immigrant and former university professor. "I think we showed that voters are ready for a change."

In suburban Cook County, Madigan had 25,044 votes (83.13%), while "write-in" tallied at 5,084 (16.67%).

The numbers in Will County were even more anti-Madigan, showing the unopposed candidate receiving 4,089 votes (78.74%) while write-in votes came in at 1,104 (21.26%).

In the much smaller part of DuPage County that includes the Illinois 3rd, Madigan tallied 85 votes (92.39%) while there were seven write-in votes (7.61%).

City of Chicago write-in votes are not currently available online, but Tomkowiak said the Board of Elections told him that number was 2,929.

Tomkowiak previously described in specific ways what he called "dirty politics" that Madigan and his backers used to ensure his name would not be on the ballot. READ MORE: Madigan Foe Describes 'Dirty Politics' That Kept Him Off The Ballot

Now, we're finding out more about the Madigan machine's ways of preventing voters from learning about his write-in campaign.

"Madigan kicked me off the ballot, used robocalls from Senator Durbin and Duckworth against me, and his people tore down my posters," Tomkowiak said. "All of my posters in the 19th Ward somehow got torn down. They also intimidated my volunteers by heckling me and my supporters at train stations."

A letter to the editor posted by the Chicago Sun-Times echoes Tomkowiak's claims about the Durbin and Duckworth robocalls.

Tomkowiak was the only Madigan challenger in the Committeeman race and the only one to submit petitions to the State Board of Elections. His campaign was funded with just $200 that he spent from the $510 raised from a CrowdPac campaign that drew donations from ten people. The political committee "Mat For IL" currently has a surplus of $300.

Since he considers all write-in votes in the race to be his and factors in the self-funding variable, Tomkowiak figures he spent about 2 cents per vote he got. In a graph he shared on Twitter, that compares to the $53 Marie Newman spent for each of her votes and $45 Dan Lipinski spent on his in the same district. Lipinski, the longtime incumbent 3rd District Congressman, narrowly defeated Newman in Tuesday night's Democratic primary.

"I'd also like to think that we showed that working class candidates can do a lot with very little," Tomkowiak said.

Tomkowiak has indicated plans to challenge Lipinski and neo-Nazi Republican nominee Arthur Jones as an independent in the general election for that Congressional seat.

The final preliminary vote count in my Write-In race against Mike Madigan for Committeeman in #IL03: 9,099. For perspective, I ran in the same district as Lipinski and Newman, but I had a budget of $200 and ZERO support from Illinois' political elites. #IllinoisPrimary #twill pic.twitter.com/1DpMlPCSIm
— Mateusz 'Mat' Tomkowiak (@MatForAll2018) March 22, 2018

Photo: Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (AP Photo/Seth Perlman File)