A curious thing happened in traditionally red McHenry County in the primary election in March: Voters cast a much larger number of Democratic ballots than Republican ones.

According to the McHenry County Clerk’s Office official final tally, or canvass, 25,187 voters cast a Democratic ballot – or about 61% of all partisan ballots cast – versus 15,883 for the Republicans.

And on races up and down the ballot, Democrats outvoted Republicans.

For instance, in the U.S. Senate race – featuring a rare open seat and a contested primary for both parties – 15,099 people voted on the Republican side versus 24,931 people on the Democratic side.

And among candidates who will face each other in the November general election – such as races for countywide offices of clerk and treasurer – the Democratic challengers outpolled the Republicans who currently hold those seats.

That, of course, does not mean the proportion of votes will be the same in November, or that those Republican incumbents will lose their seats. A lot can happen between now and then, and it’s likely that many more people will vote in November.

And a Democrat winning a countywide office in McHenry County would be extremely unusual. It’s only happened once since 1978, when Jack Franks was elected County Board chairman in 2016. But Franks lost to the current chairman, Republican Mike Buehler, in 2020, and the GOP has only extended its majority on the County Board since.

Still, the primary outcome could indicate that Democrats in McHenry County are more energized this year. And it stands in contrast with the last off-year primary election, in 2022, when voters pulled far more Republican ballots than Democratic ones in the county.

One reason for the shift in this primary could simply be that more hotly contested races were on the Democratic side, such as a wide-open race for the 9th Congressional District with the retirement of longtime U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky. It saw contested races in both parties, as did the U.S. Senate.

Turnout in McHenry County was quite low – 41,274 of the county’s about 223,255 voters cast a ballot, or just under 18.5%, and slightly less than in the 2022 primary. Even in uncontested races downballot, the trend held.

For the county clerk race, Republican incumbent Joe Tirio and Democratic candidate Bill McNeese were both unopposed in the primary. But McNeese got 23,188 votes compared with Tirio’s 14,508 votes.

Tirio was last reelected in 2022 with almost 54% of the vote against Democrat Mary Mahady in the general election. In the primary that year, Tirio got 25,275 votes, while Mahady and her primary opponent gained a total of 13,937.

“Some people are wringing their hands” or celebrating the shift, Tirio said, adding he thinks November will be completely different.

Tirio said the primaries are a “beauty pageant within each party,” and that voters’ concerns and turnout will be very different in the general election.

He also noted that the 9th Congressional District – which covers most of Algonquin Township, a relatively small portion of McHenry County – leans heavily Democratic, so the primary effectively “was their general election.”

Tirio said the GOP didn’t have a strong candidate who could compete well in that district, calling it gerrymandered.

That Democratic race had a lot of money and attention on it, which brought Democrats out, unlike the GOP race, Tirio said.

At a local level, Tirio noted that in his and those for the County Board, there wasn’t much reason to get excited about the primary with unopposed contests. But in the general election, when candidates from different parties are competing against each other, there’s “more energy about that,” Tirio said.

For the McHenry County Treasurer’s race, Democrat Amin Karim got 23,036 votes compared to incumbent Republican Donna Kurtz’s 14,556 votes. In the 2022 general election, Kurtz defeated Karim by over 20,000 votes. Kurtz also outpolled Karim in the primary that year.

Kurtz also cited fewer contested primaries on the GOP side.

Still, she acknowledged her party has “some work to do” ahead of the November general election in getting its message out and knocking on doors.

The party will need to work on making sure voters know about the GOP’s strong record as fiscal conservatives who work hard to serve the people, Kurtz said.

But she is confident the party will do that. She said she and other Republicans on the ballot in November have built a reputation for excellence, honesty and integrity.

She said voters are looking for people who will protect their property values and whom they know and trust. She said she was confident that she and Tirio are those candidates.

Democratic Party of McHenry County Chair Ruth Scifo said the party appreciated the enthusiasm its voters showed and was glad to see Democrats outvoting.

She agreed that competitive primaries for U.S. Senate, state comptroller and the 9th Congressional District helped to feed that enthusiasm, that and a large amount of advertising.

Scifo said the party is all in for its primary winners and believes they will win in the November general election.

Democrats outvoting Republicans in the 2026 primary is a shift from the 2022 primary, when about 29,400 people pulled Republican ballots and just under 14,700 people pulled Democratic ballots.

The GOP primary that year also had strong local ties, with Bull Valley resident Gary Rabine running for governor, and former McHenry County Board member Carolyn Schofield running for lieutenant governor as candidate Paul Schimpf’s running mate.

McHenry County has come to be considered the only remaining GOP-dominant collar county. At a 2024 rally for President Donald Trump, then running for his second term, Buehler, the County Board chair, acknowledged the blue-ward shift in other Chicago-area counties. But he said then that people sometimes take McHenry County’s Republican nature for granted and cautioned that election margins are tightening.

Buehler went to win reelection in 2024 with around 55% of the vote, and Trump himself performed better by percentage in the county than he did in 2020.

2020 was another year that Democrats outpolled the GOP in the McHenry County primary but didn’t make a huge imprint in the general election. About 8,000 more Democratic votes were cast that year – likely spurred by a hotly contested presidential primary for the party, whereas Trump’s lock on the GOP nomination was never in doubt. That year, Trump would go on to beat Joe Biden in McHenry County with just under 50% of the vote.

Whatever happens in November, two Republican County Board members have already lost reelection following the party’s primary.

Incumbents Larry Smith of Harvard and Brian Sager of Woodstock both lost to challengers who criticized their record of taxing and spending.

When asked what to make of more people pulling Democratic ballots this time, Smith said he figures the Democrats are doing a good job mobilizing their base and getting them to vote by mail.

Sager said he believes there’s a lot of “disappointment” from voters about both political parties and their ability to address the needs of families. He said that, combined with property taxes, has created a desire for change.