60 percent turnout in general election

Sixty percent of eligible voters in Union County cast their ballots in last week’s 2022 general election. The election was Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Unofficial results tallied at the Union County clerk’s office in Jonesboro showed that 7,083 ballots were cast in the general election. 

Records showed 11,889 registered voters in the county. Results will be finalized on Nov. 22.

Republican Party candidates did very well in Union County.

At the state level, the Republican candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, Darren Bailey and Stephanie Trussell, outpolled incumbent Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker and Juliana Stratton by a margin of 4,984 to 1,832. The Democrat incumbents won statewide.

Republicans won three contested races for county offices last week.

In the race for Union County sheriff, Republican challenger David Wilkins defeated incumbent Democrat Dale Foster by a margin of 5,132 to 1,877.

Incumbent Union County Board of Commissioners member David Gould, a Republican, held off a challenge from Democrat Marsha Griffin. Gould received 4,184 votes to Griffin’s 2,718.

In a race for another seat on the five-member county board of commissioners, Republican Brandon Bierstedt defeated Democrat Jacob M. Dent by a vote of 5,033 to 1,849.

All five members of the county board of commissioners will be Republicans.

Two Republican incumbents were unopposed in  the general election.

Incumbent Union County Clerk Lance Meisenheimer received 6,112 votes.

Incumbent Union County Treasurer Leigh Burns received 6,015 votes.

All of the candidates who won last week are scheduled to take office on Dec. 1. Oaths of office will be administered at 8 a.m. that day at the Union County Courthouse in Jonesboro.

Union County also will have a new coroner as of Dec. 1. Jon Shaffer has been appointed to the post.

A resolution filling the vacancy in the office of coroner was on the agenda at a regular meeting of the Union County Board of Commissioners which was held Thursday morning, Nov. 10. The meeting was at the Union County Courthouse in Jonesboro.

Shaffer fills a vacancy created by the recent resignation of coroner Phil Hileman. Shaffer has served as deputy coroner for two years.