For the second time in four years, incumbent Mayor Richard Irvin and John Laesch will face off in an election for Aurora’s top job. 

However, this time, Laesch, an at-large Aurora alderman since 2023, will have a one-on-one showdown with the two-term incumbent. 

Irvin unofficially topped the Tuesday primary election field while Laesch took second to qualify for the April 1 consolidated election. 

Ald. Ted Mesiacos, former Ald. Judd Lofchie, Karina Garcia and Jazmine Garcia, who earlier had suspended her campaign, widely trailed the two frontrunners. 

The candidates were on the ballot in parts of four counties — Kane, DuPage, Kendall and Will — in an election that trimmed the field. 

Kane County voters gave Irvin 37.9 percent to Laesch’s 31 percent, a 418-vote margin. Irvin and Laesch ran away with the top two spots in DuPage County as well, with Irvin getting 1,455 votes (44.4 percent) and Laesch, 1,232 votes. The next highest vote getter had just 249 ballots cast for them. 

Irvin had 35 percent of the vote in the three Kendall County precincts that are part of Aurora. Laesch had 28.5 percent, while Mesiacos collected 22.3 percent. Kendall precincts reported 228 total votes cast in the contest.  

The incumbent was also the top vote-getter in Will County precincts with an unofficial 43 percent of 479 votes cast. 

Richard Irvin

“We had six people — including me — in the race and we still came in with 40 percent of the vote,” Irvin said at a victory celebration. “(But) this is just the beginning. We’ve got five more weeks to go and we’ve got to keep this thing going.” 

Laesch, meanwhile, expressed appreciation to supporters in a statement on his web site. 

“I want to thank the residents of Aurora for sending a strong message to the current administration that we need a government and economy that works for everyone, not just for the political insiders, donors and those who seek to buy influence from our elected officials,” Laesch stated. 

In 2021, Irvin won 55 percent of the vote to defeat Laesch and Judd Lofchie in a three-person contest and claim a second term to lead Illinois’ second-largest city. In 2017, Irvin beat Richard Guzman by more than 700 votes for his first mayoral triumph. 

The Feb. 25 victory was Irvin’s first campaign since he ran as a Republican for Illinois governor in the 2022 primary. 

Despite having a multimillion-dollar war chest, Irvin collected just 15 percent of the GOP vote in a contest easily won by then-state Sen. Darren Bailey. In turn, Bailey went on to a landslide loss to incumbent Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker. 

This year’s Aurora primary included an endorsement of an Irvin rival by Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. 

The U.S. senator, currently mulling over whether to run for a sixth Senate term, endorsed Ted Mesiacos and encouraging people to support him.  

“I don’t get involved in too many local races, but I wanted to make sure to support Ted Mesiacos in his run for mayor of Aurora,” Durbin said. “Ted has the determination and commitment to lead Aurora residents into a better tomorrow.” 

Durbin’s endorsement didn’t resonate with many voters. Mesiacos finished a distant third, with just more than 14 percent of the vote in Kane County (885 votes) and just 7.26 percent in DuPage with 238 votes. He also received 51 votes in Kendall County and 9.6 percent in Will County, 46 votes. 

Turnout was low throughout the four counties, with just 6.45 percent of registered voters casting ballots in DuPage County, 10.25 percent in Kane County and 12.5 percent in Will.  

 —Jack McCarthy contributed to this report