It wasn’t democracy’s finest hour. In an election last week, the sole Republican candidate for the U.S. House in Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District was a Holocaust denier and neo-Nazi. And he got more than 20,000 votes. Ugh.

Ideally, Arthur Jones would have received no votes because he deserves no support. But even one vote – his own – would have been enough to win Tuesday’s primary because he ran unopposed. Instead he got 20,458. The Cook County Clerk’s Office reports that 70 percent of suburban voters in the district pulling a Republican ballot checked his name.

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Blame a lack of situational awareness. Republicans didn’t bother to recruit a legitimate candidate because the district is gerrymandered to elect a Democrat. So Jones waltzed in and now is set to run on their ticket in November against incumbent Rep. Dan Lipinski. This embarrassment is on Republicans. Let both parties stay awake during future filing periods to prevent unsavory characters from hijacking their good names.

Most voters didn’t intend to support Jones, we’re certain. They voted the party line and automatically filled in the box next to his name. Why research an unopposed candidate? Too bad they didn’t pay more attention to news reports. If they feel a little chagrined, they ought to.

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The lesson here is democracy is imperfect. But it’s also self-correcting, 3rd District residents. This November: Vote Lipinski. All of you.

— Chicago Tribune