Quad Cities Democrats filled exultant election watch parties in Rock Island and Bettendorf Tuesday night, Nov. 3, to celebrate their party’s victories up and down the 2026 ballots.
“You dream about nights like this as a Democrat. You just dream about it,” Illinois State Rep. Gregg Johnson (D-East Moline), who ran unopposed, said at the Rock Island County Democrats’ gathering at the Rock Island Holiday Inn. “And it's clear, hate and intolerance have lost tonight and love and acceptance won. That's it. That's all I can say. It restores your faith in so many ways.”
Party victories included re-election of Gov. JB Pritzker, U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Moline), State Sen. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island), Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton becoming new U.S. Senator, Democrats also were elected to Rock Island County Sheriff (Marcus Herbert) and County Clerk (Maggie Crouch), as well as a close victory of Democrat James Mountain over Rock Island County Board member Drue Mielke.
State Rep. Dan Swanson (R-Alpha) staved off a challenge from Democrat Kermit Thomas.
“DeSantis in Florida. He said, Republicans, we need to quit gaslighting the American people,” Johnson said Tuesday night. “Gas prices are impacting everything, the tariffs, and it's too expensive for people to live. And he said Trump needs to stop telling people that it's not because they're feeling it. They're feeling it. You can't tell someone what they're not feeling when they're living that every single day. And that's what Republicans have done.”
“You can only lie to the working class and the people in organized labor so many times,” he added. “They're not going to get fooled too many times because they're living this every day. And he tried. What is it they say in ‘The Usual Suspects’? The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing people he didn't exist. Well, they're living this existence now.”
In his victory speech, Congressman Sorensen said: “My legislative team has worked so hard. We have brought back $166 million back to Illinois 17 in just four years. And guess what? That was four years working in the minority,” he said.
“There's a blue wave, y'all! So that means that when we get back to Washington, we're going to get back to work, and we're going to get real results for the people.”
“Because of your trust in the polls today, I'll continue to pay you back with my hard work,” Sorensen said. “That means going back to Washington to do three things that people are demanding today. It's fighting corruption no matter who does it; lowering costs for the American people, and putting money back in everybody's pockets. Those aren't things that only Democrats support. Everyone is working for that.”
“This is the honor of my life to do this work. I'm so proud to do this work for the people of Illinois,” he added. “As we go forward, we’re now going to have some of the tools to fight back. The problem is we’re not gonna to have all the tools. We’re going to have the majority in the House and the majority in the Senate, but we still got that guy. But you know what? We can make his life absolutely miserable.”
"The people of Illinois 17 have spoken, and I've heard from so many people," Sorensen said. "I've heard from farmers who can't fill up their combines because diesel is nearly $7 a gallon. We've got moms that are worried about how they're going to feed their kids or what happens to their families if somebody's going to get sick. I've talked to proud dads worried about sons and daughters in harm's way fighting a war that nobody asked for.
"Senior citizens who can't afford their medicine, so in the greatest country on earth, they're cutting their pills in half," he noted. "Voters want an end to the intimidation and the violence caused by an out-of-control ICE. Everybody's got a reason to vote. And voting is the best way to accept or reject the path of the country. So thank you to the voters of Illinois."
Drue Mielke, one of just four Republicans on the 19-member Rock Island County Board, narrowly lost his race against James Mountain of Coal Valley (a village board member), by just 44 votes out of about 3,000 cast.
Mielke of Coal Velley has been on county board since 2012, and he planned to seek a recount of Tuesday’s vote.
“I get a lot of Democrat votes. I get a lot of independent votes,” he said Tuesday night at the Milan Happy Joe’s as votes were coming in. “I've talked to several people that said, you're the only Republican I'm voting for.”
“'I’m well known for the things I've achieved on the county board. Things that everyone agrees on,” Mielke said. "Downsizing the board, removing pensions from county board. I have 100% pro-labor voting record. I have seven labor union endorsements. I want jobs and I want good jobs. I want good management. I want good labor. I want a good mix. I want a good relationship between management and labor.”
“I think our electorate looks at the person, not the party,” he added.
Mountain (who works as IT director for Palmer College) has been on the Coal Valley village board for six years, and wants to help lower property taxes. He thanked his wife Sheila for her strong support in his campaign for county board.
“Property tax is huge. I mean, it's also quite high. So if we can get a couple waste-to-energy plants in Rock Island County, we could use the money that we get from that to hopefully lower our property taxes,” he said Tuesday night. “I don't like paying property taxes.”
“We just got a new Fareway in Coal Valley that I was a part of— working with them, talking to voters, seeing what they don't like, what they need to change,” Mountain said. “Coal Valley buying water from Moline would reduce our rates for water and sewer. So it's all about getting the residents more money they can spend and a higher quality water.”
“I've done a lot in the six years, and I'm hoping I can do a lot more with Rock Island County,” he added. “I had a couple Republicans who had reached out to me and they said, you're the only Democrat I voted for. And I was like, great. So some of it was just talking to Republicans, talking to them one-on-one and showing them.”
“What I can do is work on your property taxes, work on getting the drugs out of Coal Valley, work on getting better water, going to work, applying for federal grants, not just showing up and voting, but actually listening to residents,” Mountain said.
Trump administration tariffs placed on imported products have hurt many businesses, including the HVAC industry, which has seen wholesale prices up 20% in the past year, said Chris Bornhoeft of Bornhoeft Heating and Air Conditioning, who’s also mayor of Hampton.
“It's been horrible. I mean, COVID was the first problem, but then the tariffs have been just absolutely brutal,” he said Tuesday night at the Democrats’ gathering. “If this wholesale price goes up, I'm only going to charge you the wholesale cost to myself. I don't mark up a tariff price because I don't believe in making money off something that shouldn't be there to begin with. To me, that's ill-gotten gains. But it does make my life a whole lot more difficult.”
State Sen. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island), who won a second term, said his top priority in Springfield will be higher education, continuing to work for a funding formula for four-year universities.
“Western Illinois and our other regional universities are struggling at the moment, and part of that is because they've been underfunded for so long,” he said Tuesday night. “And so I really need to make a push for my colleagues and sell my colleagues on the reality that we need to help these universities.”
WIU’s Moline campus has seen lower enrollment this year, “and part of that is nationwide trends and just fewer high school students that are graduating,” Halpin said. “And we want to make sure that when those demographics change, we are prepared and we still have an institution that can serve the community. It’s a beautiful campus, but the state didn't fund the operations the way they needed to. So Macomb took on that burden, and they've been doing the best they can. But at some point, when you don't have resources, you have to start making difficult decisions.”
Celebrating in Scott County
Dr. Nikhil Wagle of Bettendorf, an ophthalmologist who’s served on the Pleasant Valley School Board since 2013, upset the incumbent Republican State Sen. Scott Webster (47th District), by just 151 votes out of over 31,000 cast.
“This started back in 2013 when I ran for school board for the first time. I was a doctor who had never run for anything,” Wagle said to a packed QC Waterfront Convention Center crowd in Bettendorf. “I didn't know much about campaigns, but I knew our kids deserved people who would show up, listen, and do the hard work.
"I still remember those conversations with parents and teachers -- people who didn't need or want a politician. They just wanted somebody who would listen and fight for their kids.”
“So four school board elections later, a year and 3 months ago, these same group of friends who encouraged me to run for school board and believed me— believed in me back in 2013, they sat me down and said, Nikhil, with all that you have done, you've outgrown the school board,” Wagle recalled.
“It's time to take everything that you've learned as a physician, as a parent, as a public servant and put the work to something bigger. And I took their advice and I looked to see what was available and what I thought this district needed most with my talents. And that's how I ended up wanting to run for the Iowa State Senate.”
”And tonight, what we planted 15 months ago has blossomed into something none of us could have built alone. So thank you. Together, believe it or not, we did something amazing here in District 47. This campaign set the record in Iowa for the most money ever raised by a non-incumbent,” Wagle said, noting he raised over $400,000. “Now I am really proud of that, not because of the dollars, but because of what that stands for.”
“Whoever wants to serve can run on ideas and integrity, not on who can raise the most,” he added. “So please give all of yourselves a hand. I may be the one standing at this microphone, but this victory belongs to all of you.”
"You said that public office is a public trust. And you said enough of this partisan politics that we've watched play out over the last 12 years here in Iowa,” Wagle said. “I will work with anybody— Republicans, Democrats, Independents, anybody. We will not play this partisan game, not in this district and not on my watch. And you said that hope isn't something we wait for. Hope is a choice.”
“So here's my promise: I'm going to help bring ethics back to the State House. Not with speeches, but how I serve,” he said. “I'll hold regular town halls where you can ask me anything. I'll tell you how I vote and why, even when you don't like it. And if I get something wrong, you'll hear it from me first. Get ready, District 47. I hope there's going to be a change. I will be forever present as community, and I will make sure I'm accessible.
“To the people who didn't vote for me, I'll work just as hard for you. I'm your neighbor, I live here, and I'm not going anywhere,” Wagle added. “I hope to earn your trust. Now I'm going to Des Moines to get things done, to stand with working families to have a fair shake, to make sure and fight for healthcare that you can afford and reach close to home, and to make sure every family in this district can turn on their tap water and trust what comes out.
"And to make sure that our teachers and our kids have someone in their corner. And I'll fight to keep decisions about our schools and our communities where they belong, right here at home with their local elected officials.”
Democrat Adam Peters, who’s volunteered for several national campaigns in the past six years, won his race to become new Iowa State Representative in District 97.
“We need people that want to change the state of Iowa for the future and to get people to stay here,” he said. “Every single door I knocked that had a parent or a grandparent, they weren't talking about issues. They were saying, we want our kids to move back and they, they refuse because Iowa is so bad now. And it's like, I want people to stay here too. When I grew up, I'm 38. A lot of people think I'm like in my 20s. I remember being proud of the small community I grew up in, going to my grandparents' farm, education. I had a good education. We need that again.”
“I'm still gobsmacked that this is happening,” Peters said of Democratic victories (in Scott County, the party won three State Senate and three House races). “Like, this isn't a blue wave. It's a tsunami. Like, it is a tsunami.”
“I'm about to go into Des Moines and work with a woman that proposed two sessions ago that we should abolish gay marriage in Iowa,” he said. “I can't wait to have a conversation with her. I'm not going to chastise her. I want to know, why did you— why? Tell me, what's the thought process?”
In his thank-you speech Tuesday night to the crowd, he spoke of “the blood, sweat and tears” poured into his first campaign.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart and all the other candidates,” Peters said. “The work is not done. We’ve had some amazing success tonight, but we have to continue this. Because Donald Trump doesn’t go away tomorrow. We have to continue this momentum that we have created in Scott County, in Iowa and across America. The work starts tomorrow, but we celebrate tonight!”
State Sen. Cindy Winckler won re-election in the 49th District, among three Scott County Democratic victories in the Iowa Senate and three in the Iowa House, but Republicans were far from shut out Tuesday. Iowa did turn from red to blue with Rob Sand becoming governor, Josh Turek the new U.S. Senator, and Christina Bohannan (a former Iowa state rep) ousting 1st Congressional District U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
The Waterfront Center crowd erupted in cheers when the big-screen TV showed that Democrats regained control of the U.S. Senate.
“We won't sugarcoat it: this was a tough night for Republicans in Scott County, the State of Iowa, and across the country,” Scott County Republicans said in a Wednesday morning statement. “Midterm elections have historically been difficult for the party holding the White House, and even more so for a party that also holds the Senate, the House, the Governor's office and both chambers of the State Legislature. This year was no exception. But even in an incredibly difficult year, Scott County Republicans delivered important victories.
Joe Stutting (SD-35) flipped his seat, defeating incumbent Democrat Mike Zimmer. GOP Senator Kerry Gruenhagen (SD-41) held his seat, as did Representatives Bobby Kaufmann (HD-82), Norlin Mommsen (HD-70), Mike Vondran (HD-94) and Gary Mohr (HD-93).
Statewide, Iowans re-elected Secretary of State Paul Pate and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, and Treasurer Roby Smith holds the lead in his race. Voters also approved the constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds vote to raise taxes, a clear win for Iowa taxpayers, the GOP said.
“We also thank Senator Scott Webster for his tireless service to Senate District 47 and await the official canvass in his race. We congratulate County Attorney Kelly Cunningham-Haan on her reelection,” the statement said. “The Scott County Republican Party is grateful to everyone who worked so hard this cycle. We will regroup, rebuild and keep fighting for faith, family and freedom in Scott County.”
** Additional reporting was provided by WVIK's Marley Haley and Joshua Traugott.
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