Bareis and Craft defeat incumbent Perry County sheriff & treasurer; 7,451 ballots cast as 52.29% voter turnout is reported despite heavy all-day rains

Lousy weather didn't seem to favor Democrats or Republicans as voters shook the rain from their umbrellas in steady numbers at the doors of polling places all over Perry County Tuesday. The turnout was 52.2% of the registered voters.

Voters also showed they have long memories by unseating four-term Perry County Democrat sheriff Keith Kellerman. The department and its staff have a tremendous track record under Kellerman's watch, but an almost three-year-old same sex tryst Kellerman was involved in apparently caught up with him, even though the petty charge of indecency was dropped by the Caseyville Police Department.

Odds and ends of miscues by other members of the Kellerman family in Pinckneyville didn't help his candidacy.

As polls closed at 7 p.m. and judges carried ballots, electronic key cards and supplies back to the government building Republican deputy Bareis had defeated Kellerman by a margin of 4,469 to 2,854 (60.98%) with all precincts reporting.

Bareis' candidacy stood on the shoulders of three words during his win in the Republican primary over retired deputy Gale Reidelberger: Integrity. Fairness. Service.

He defeated Reidelberger 914 to 766 in the March primary.

Bareis, 45, has been a deputy sheriff for the Perry County's Sheriff Department for 12 years. He graduated second in his class from the Jefferson College Police Training Institute in Hillsboro, Missouri, in 1998. Prior to coming to Perry County he served as a reserve officer for the City of St. Clair, Missouri and chaplain for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Troop C in Kirkwood, Missouri.

He resumed his campaign last week, fresh from a three-day weekend with the 33rd military battalion of the Illinois National Guard. He serves as chaplain.

"Things have been reaffirmed since the primary," said Bareis. "My candidacy has been tailored by the community whose spirit believes it is time for a change," he said.

Up-and-coming Republican businesswoman Mary Jane Craft defeated incumbent three-term Democrat Bill Taylor by a margin of 3,692 to 3,590. (50.70%) Throughout her campaign she cited Democrat complacency and said the office needs to be more transparent, including the posting of key financial data on a website she hopes to create.

The Bareis and Craft wins put six Republicans in key county positions. They join board members Bobby Kelly and Sam Robb, state's attorney David Stanton and assessor John Batteau.

Perry County Clerk Josh Gross and Board of Commissioners member Jim Epplin -- both Democrats--were unopposed, receiving 5,876 and 5,808 votes respectively.

No opposition validated their belief they were doing good jobs,

Voting was heavy in Pinckneyville, steady in Du Quoin and only so-so in outlying precincts.

At the end of the day, Perry County voters would cast 7,451 ballots for a 52.29% voter turnout.

The county clerk's office actually registered and voted 20 residents Tuesday in an eleventh hour effort to franchise more voters.

Election director Tory Woods said the day went well. Runners had to reload paper tape in several touch screen machines that ran out. No votes are dropped when that happens. A voter at the Du Quoin Youth Club fell down some steps while crossing from where voters used to vote to the lower gymnasium.

Staffers kept their fingers crossed all night that the vendor software on the ballot counting computer would work properly. It did.

Because many mayoral and commissioner candidates in Du Quoin and Pinckneyville have already announced their plans for the April 2015 local elections, many confused voters were looking for their names on Tuesday's ballot. That voter beat-down is still five months away.

Rep. Mike Bost's name recognition and 20 years of cookie-cut re-elections to his 115th district Illinois House seat won over Perry County voters. In Perry County, Bost defeated incumbent Bill Enyart 4,886 to 2,278 (66.20%). Bost's tenure in Illinois politics began in 1994 when he defeated Perry County Democrat Gerald Hawkins.

Perry County voters also favored Bruce Rauner over Pat Quinn 4.478 to 2.294 (62.05%) in the race for Illinois governor.