Incumbent Richard Irvin and John Laesch to Face Off for Mayor of Aurora, Illinois
The nonpartisan mayoral primary occurred today to narrow the field of six candidates to two.
The nonpartisan primaries occurred today in Illinois to select the two candidates advancing to the April general election. However, the most significant race on the ballot today was the primary for Mayor of Aurora, Illinois.
Incumbent Mayor Richard Irvin, a Republican, has led Aurora since May 2017. Despite already serving two terms in office, Irvin is running for a third term. Six candidates qualified for the ballot. As such, a primary was ordered. If only five candidates qualified, then all would have advanced to the general election.
In the nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Aurora, Richard Irvin and John Laesch will advance with 40.2% (4,060) and 33.5% (3,386) against Theodoros “Ted” Mesiacos with 11.9% (1,206), Judd Lofchie with 10.1% (1,020), Karina Garcia with 3.7% (378), and Jazmine Garcia with 0.6% (60). 10,110 votes have been counted.
In 2022, Irwin sought the Republican nomination for Governor of Illinois. He selected State Representative Avery Bourne as his running mate. They ultimately finished third in the six-candidate Republican primary with 15% of the vote. In the general election, Democratic incumbents J.B. Pritzer and Juliana Stratton were re-elected to their second terms 54.9-42.4 against Republicans Darren Bailey and Stephanie Trussell.
Laesch and Lofchie previously ran for Mayor against Irvin in 2021. Laesch and Mesiacos currently serve on the Aurora City Council while Lofchie is a former member. Laesch is not affiliated with any political party.
According to 2023 estimates, Aurora is the 149th most populous city in the United States and the second most populous city in Illinois - following Chicago. Founded in Kane County, Aurora has since expanded into neighboring DuPage, Kendall and Will Counties.
The general election between Irvin and Laesch will occur on April 1, 2025.