DeKalb Mayor, Dem House Candidate Voted in GOP Primary in 2022
DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes won his office in 2021 and launched a Democratic campaign for State Representative last week. But, records show Barnes voted in the Republican primary in 2022. (Photo: Shaw Media)
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DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes, a recently announced Democratic candidate in the 76th House District, may cause himself some headaches catering to progressive primary Democratic voters.
He voted in the 2022 Republican primary.
Barnes, 53, was elected Mayor of DeKalb in 2021, running a moderate campaign in the 40,000 person city. Most municipal offices are elected on a non-partisan basis.
Barnes announced last week he would seek to replace outgoing Rep. Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa), who is not seeking re-election. Barnes is an IT company owner and Army veteran and claims he’s a political moderate, too.
“When it comes to fiscal responsibility, when it comes to balancing [budgets], when it comes to economic development, that’s where the moderate side of me comes in,” he said. “I know its going to be a progressive race, especially in a presidential year, but the feedback I get from Democrats is that there’s a lot of moderates out there who are tired of the polarization on a national level and a local level.”
Barnes confirmed he pulled the GOP ballot in 2022 in effort, he says, to vote in one specific judicial race. He says he did not vote in the Republican gubernatorial primary.
“It just made sense to vote for the right person [in that judicial race],” he said. “I was voting on what was important locally and I voted only for the local people on that particular ballot.”
Records indicate Barnes voted in Democratic primaries in 2020 and 2016. He does not appear to have voted in primaries in 2018 or 2014.
One Democratic consultant we spoke to Monday, who asked to remain anonymous but isn’t affiliated with anyone in the race, said Barnes will have a hard time convincing progressive voters he’s a full-throated Democrat.
“It’s a pretty easy hit to say he pulled a ballot for Darren Bailey and not JB Pritzker last year,” the consultant said. “Being a moderate may help win that race in November, but that won’t help in March.”
It isn’t yet clear if House Democrats have a horse in the race or if they’re concerned about Barns’ voting history. A spokesperson for Speaker Chris Welch’s political operation could not be reached Monday.
Interestingly, Carolyn Zasada, a DeKalb alderwoman who Barnes defeated for the Mayor’s office in 2021, also filed campaign finance paperwork Monday to seek the Democratic nomination in the 76th. Longtime Yednock staffer Amy Briel is also seeking the seat.
