CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Very low turnout was reported in the primary election, especially in the city of Chicago.
The Board of election commissioners reported that turnout was about 20%. The smallest turnout was among voters from ages 18-24. The largest turnout was among voters from ages 55 -74.
Chicago Board of Elections spokesman spoke Max Bever weighed in.
"Voters 55 are always going to be a very reliable voter base. As we've seen over the last few years, many of those voters are also choosing to early vote- to vote by mail rather than waiting for election day," he explained
"But I think we're what we're really looking at is presidential primaries are becoming tougher and tougher for voters and if it's not very competitive at the top of the ballot for president, that's when we generally historically see pretty low turnout."
The Illinois primary has meant big wins for incumbents with two Chicago-area Democrats emerging from competitive primaries.
Longtime Rep. Danny Davis won the Democratic primary after a competitive five-way contest. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia also won against Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez. Former state Sen. Darren Bailey conceded to U.S. Rep. Mike Bost in a competitive Republican primary in southern Illinois.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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