As pollster’s predicted a “red wave” across the country, election results in Illinois told a different story. Please find below a comprehensive overview of this year’s general election:
Statewide Results
Governor
Governor JB Pritzker has won re-election with 54% of the vote. Currently, we are waiting on mail in ballots and some outstanding early voting. But, it looks like the Governor’s margin is similar to the 2018 results. Pritzker faced a far-right Darren Bailey who deeply aligned himself with Trump-ism.
Attorney General
Attorney General Kwame Raoul secured re-election with 54% of the vote. His opponent Tom Devore is a Bailey/Trump style candidate known for suing the state during the pandemic.
Secretary of State
Alexi Giannoulis beat sitting State Representative Dan Brady with 54% of the vote. Alexi was backed by the main players of the Democratic Party, including retiring SOS Jesse White.
Treasurer
Mike Frerichs won re-election as well with 54% of the vote. He faced State Representative Tom Demmer. It is important to note that Demmer was the only state wide republican candidate from the Richard Irvin/Ken Griffin slate.
Comptroller
Susana Mendoza won re-election with 57% of the vote. Her opponent Sharon Teresi was rather unknown and had very minimal public appearances.
Supreme Court
With 95% reporting, both Elizabeth Rochford and Mary Kay O’Brien are beating their opponents. Rochford has a substantial lead with 54% of the vote. O’Brien currently leads by just 2%. These races were seen as priorities by both sides as we are seeing the Federal Supreme Court sending so much power back to states.
Workers Rights Amendment. Amendment 1, Right to Collective Bargaining Measure
Illinois voters passed the Workers Rights Amendment, a highly contested ballot initiative. The amendment solidifies workers’ rights to organize, preventing Illinois from ever becoming a “right to work state.” This was also a huge priority for both sides.
US Senate Seat- Illinois
Tammy Duckworth beat her opponent Kathy Salvi with 56% of the vote.
Illinois Congressional Races:
District 6: Sean Casten
Casten won re-election against Orland Park Mayor, Keith Pekau. This race gained national attention, as Pekau became a talking head pushing back against the SAFE-T Act. Casten won with 54% of the vote.
District 14: Lauren Underwood
Underwood secured re-election with 54% of the vote. Her new district geographically covers some very new regions, and the national Republican party viewed it as potentially winnable.
District 13: Nikki Budzinski
Budzinski beat her opponent, Regan Deering with 55%. Budzinski’s district works well for her,
District 17: Eric Sorensen
The national Republican Party identified District 17 as a winnable district with their candidate Esther Joy King. Some would point to this being the surprise of the night. Sorenson currently leads by 6%. This seat was formerly held by Congresswoman Cheri Bustos.
Illinois House
Speaker Welch and the House Democrats now hold 77 or 78 seats, compared to the Republicans 40 or 41. Some races are coming down to razor thin margins with mail in ballots still being counted. Some of the highlights include:
- Representative Keith Wheeler (R) losing to Matt Hanson.
- Nabeela Sayeed (D) beating Representative Chris Bos.
- Harry Benton (D) winning the former Representative Mark Batinick (R) seat.
- Representative Latoya Greenwood (D) losing.
- Mary Beth Canty (D) beating Michele Hunter in Arlington Heights.
- Representative Deanne Mazocchi (R) is currently losing by 174 votes to opponent Jenn Ladisch Douglass. (D)
- Many of the House Dems targets won including: Terra Costa Howard, Dave Vella, Anne Stava Murray, Joyce Mason, Maura Hirschauer and Suzanne Ness.
This week, Minority Leader Jim Durkin also announced he will not be seeking re-election as Minority Leader. This is significant news and points to the caucus going farther to the right. Early reports are pointing to Representative Tony McCombie as the next Leader.
Illinois Senate
It is looking like Senate President Don Harmon and the Senate Democrats will lose 1 or 2 seats. Some Senate highlights are below:
- Mary Edly Allen (D) has won the former Senator Melinda Bush district.
- Senator Patrick Joyce (D) has won re-election.
- Recently appointed Senator Kris Tharp (D) has lost.
- Senator Mike Hastings (D) is currently up by 340 votes.
- Representative Mike Halpin (D) won his race for the Illinois Senate.
- Leader Dan McConchie (R) won re-election. The Senate Dems saw him as a target halfway through the campaign and put resources against him.
- Senator Suzy Glowiak (D) has won re-election in DuPage County.
- Senator Laura Ellman (D) also won re-election in a tight DuPage County race.
This week, 13 Senate Republicans wrote a letter to leadership requesting new leadership in the caucus. Senator John Curran then circulated a letter to his members informing them he will be running for Minority Leader. Curran is a well liked moderate suburban Senator from DuPage County.
DuPage County Chair
For the first time in the history of the county, DuPage County has a Democratic Board Chair. Representative Deb Conroy faced sitting Board Member Greg Hart in a highly contested campaign. Just 10 years ago, DuPage was seen as one of the most conservative counties in the nation. They now have Democratic Chair and Board with Conroy’s 51-49 victory.