Elmhurst resident Sean Noonan lost his bid for DuPage County sheriff on Tuesday, Nov. 3, falling to Democrat Peter Coolidge by a wide margin.
No Democrat had won the race in generations, according to Patch. Multiple outlets, including the New York Times and Daily Herald, declared Coolidge the winner.
With about 99% of ballots counted, unofficial results showed Coolidge with 195,052 votes to Noonan's 130,903, according to the Chicago Tribune. Results remain unofficial until certified by election authorities.
Noonan, a Republican, is a police officer with the Oakbrook Terrace Police Department and a former DuPage County Board member. He previously worked for the Western Springs, Bloomingdale and Addison police departments.
Coolidge, of West Chicago, is a retired DuPage County sheriff's deputy who spent nearly 28 years with the office before retiring in 2024. He served in the corrections, law enforcement and court security divisions.
Both candidates were running to replace retiring two-term Sheriff James Mendrick. The Tribune reported Mendrick retired to make an unsuccessful Republican bid for governor in the primary. In 2018, Mendrick won the sheriff's seat with 51% of the vote and ran unopposed four years later, Patch reported.
During the campaign, Coolidge said his top priority would be that everyone in DuPage County's diverse communities feels safe. He told the Daily Herald that meant "real community engagement, not just enforcement," according to Patch.
Noonan said the sheriff's office was in dire need of new leadership, Patch reported. He said his priorities included deputy training and recruiting.
Both candidates faced scrutiny during the campaign. A man sued DuPage County alleging Coolidge and another deputy used excessive force; the county denied the allegations, Patch reported. Separately, a woman complained to Winfield police in 2018 that Coolidge had been harassing her, according to a police report cited by Patch.
Coolidge did not respond to Patch's inquiries about the controversies, that outlet reported. Noonan faced a watchdog complaint over appearing in a former employer's police uniform on his campaign website; he said he did not violate any code and had the logo blurred, Patch reported.
