Walkup Wins Historic McHenry County Board Chairman Primary

Michael Walkup has won the Republican primary race for the McHenry County Chariman seat, beating out incumbent Joseph Gottemoller, according to unofficial results posted Friday morning on the McHenry County Clerk's website. This election season is the first time in McHenry County history the popular vote will decide the candidate for the seat.

Walkup, 66, won the Republican nomination with 24,153 votes over Gottemoller's 22,776 votes, according to the unofficial results. Due to several issues at the polls Tuesday, it took the McHenry County Clerk's Office nearly 48 hours to tally the unofficial results, according to the Northwest Herald. Now, one local politician is calling on the State Board of Elections to investigate the clerk's office's handling of the election.

>>> State Board of Elections Asked to Investigate Primary Election Day Issues in McHenry County

Walkup is slated to run uncontested in the November general election.

Walkup also won the Republican nomination for his District 3 County Board seat. Walkup is running both for the county board chair and county board seat so he will still be allowed to vote on issues under the state law, according to the Northwest Herald.

Walkup has said he wants to reduce property taxes by forcing county departments to cut spending and reducing the county tax levy, according to a Northwest Herald article.

>>> Find more results from presidential primary

A referendum passed in 2014 changed the way the county board chairman is chosen. In the past, the 26-member county board selected the county board chair now the decision will be left in the hands of voters, the Northwest Herald reports. The elected county board chairman will serve a four-year term.

Gottemoller said he was disappointed with the results but did call Walkup to congratulate him on his win.

More unofficial results from McHenry County races, including McHenry County Board races, can be found on the McHenry County Clerk’s website.