South West Illinois News

President-elect Donald Trump won all but 11 of Illinois' 102 counties in the Nov. 8 election despite losing the popular vote in the state.

Trump overwhelmingly geographically won Illinois, but Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton won the state by winning the state's most populous counties, particularly Cook County and those in the Chicago area. The results for Illinois' presidential elections show that Clinton won in only 11 counties but still walked away with 55.4 percent of the vote, 2,977,498 ballots cast, and the state's 20 electoral votes. Trump took 39.4 percent, or 2,118,179 votes.

The only Southern Illinois county the Republican nominee didn't win was Jackson County, which he lost to Clinton by fewer than 750 votes. Clinton received 47.4 percent of the Jackson County vote, or 11,619 ballots, while Trump received 44.4 percent, or 10,889 votes.

Trump's overwhelming strength in Southern Illinois counties is no surprise, Southern Illinois College Social Science Chair Matt Matt Lees said.

"They've been trending Republican ever since the Reagan Revolution," Lees said. "So it's not entirely shocking in terms of how the election played out."

Two third-party candidates, Libertarian and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and Green Party Candidate Jill Stein, did comparatively well in Illinois. The two received more than 5 percent of the vote in Illinois: Johnson took 3.8 percent (204,491 votes) and Stein received 1.4 percent (74,112).

That's a marked improvement over Johnson's and Stein's showings in Illinois during the 2012 Presidential election. That year, the two shared less than 2 percent of the presidential election vote in Illinois. Johnson took 1.07 percent (56,229) while Stein received 0.58 percent (30,222).

Lees said Trump should mend fences within the GOP, particularly with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), after last week's election.

"Donald Trump really has to reach out to members of his own party," Lees said during a WSIL 3 ABC interview. "Remember, he had difficult interaction with Speaker Ryan. He's going to have to rebuild his own base and coalition."

Ryan, who declined to campaign with or support Trump, was re-elected to his seat in Congress Tuesday. He met with Trump shortly after the election and has since attempted to put a cordial face on what previously had been a difficult public relationship.

Lees said Trump will enter the White House with a unique set of advantages, .

"He's also the first Republican to enter the White House controlling both chambers since Herbert Hoover," Lees said. "So he has this tremendous advantage."

Trump's win could also cast a shadow over President Barack Obama's accomplishments during his two terms in office, Lees said.

"In terms of President Obama, his legacy is really in jeopardy here because most of what he was able to accomplish was through a lot of executive orders," Lees said. "Those can be changed almost instantly by President Donald Trump."