Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart scores win and fifth term against GOP challenger Lupe Aguirre

The Associated Press has declared incumbent Tom Dart the winner in the Cook County Sheriff’s race.

Dart, a Democrat, has been sheriff in Cook County since 2006 and ran against GOP hopeful Lupe Aguirre and Libertarian candidate Brad Sandefur.

Lupe Aguirre is a Chicago police officer and an attorney who in 2018 also ran for Cook County commissioner as a Democrat. In a candidate statement to WTTW this year, however, he said he was “running against the woke left” who sought to “minimize law enforcement” and “treat violent offenders as victims.” He did not record raising any funds for his run, according to the state board of elections, while Sandefur raised just over $2,000.

In a county that leans heavily Democratic, Dart’s win the in the June primary was a key to him receiving a fifth term.

In that race, Dart handily defeated Chicago Police Officer Noland Rivera after Dart was successful in getting a top political rival, Carmen Navarro Gercone, removed from the ballot due to a controversial new law that requires anyone running for sheriff to be a certified law enforcement officer.