A northwest suburban GOP state representative appears poised for reelection by a margin of just 47 votes over a better-funded Democratic challenger.
With the final ballots counted this week in the hotly contested 52nd House District that includes Algonquin, Wauconda and Mundelein, Republican state Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills, had 29,520 votes — about 50.04% of the total — compared to 29,473 for Democratic challenger Maria Peterson.
The Associated Press had not called the race as of Wednesday afternoon.
McLaughlin held a narrow lead on election night before two weeks of counting mail-in ballots. He declared victory three days after the Nov. 5 election, calling his lead “insurmountable.”
But Peterson’s campaign manager, Josh Kilroy, noted Wednesday that the challenger had cut McLaughlin’s margin by about 400 votes since the incumbent declared victory.
“We’re waiting with bated breath for the final results,” Kilroy said. Peterson has not conceded — and has not ruled out requesting a recount.
All voting precincts have been tallied up, but results aren’t official until they’re certified by county clerks and the Illinois State Board of Elections.
The 52nd District includes parts of four counties: Cook, Lake, McHenry and a small sliver of Kane.
The official canvass of votes was released Tuesday for Kane County, which accounted for a mere 73 votes in the race — 48 for McLaughlin and 25 for Peterson.
Results will be certified Friday for Lake County, which covers the biggest portion of the district. Peterson led there with 19,332 votes to 18,569 for McLaughlin.
Results are expected to be certified Nov. 25 in McHenry County — where McLaughlin led with 6,216 votes to 5,701 for Peterson — and by Nov. 26 in Cook County, where McLaughlin’s advantage was 4,687 votes to 4,415 for Peterson.
The state Board of Elections is expected to certify all general election results by Dec. 6.
If the numbers hold, they’ll hand a third term to McLaughlin and a second straight electoral heartbreaker to Peterson, a retired attorney for the U.S. Department of Labor. The North Barrington resident lost her 2022 state Senate bid by only 385 votes to former Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie in the 26th District.
There are no automatic recounts under Illinois law. Peterson would have to request a recount within five days of certification — and pay for it, too.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch put major Democratic Party chips behind Peterson in hopes of adding the purple district’s seat to his caucus’ statehouse super-majority. As it stands, Democrats appear likely to maintain their 78-40 advantage over Republicans in the chamber.
“After the Speaker and Majority Democrats provided my opponent with over [$3 million] in campaign contributions to misrepresent my record and positions, the great people of the 52nd District were nevertheless still able to see through these negative lies and provide me with another opportunity to represent our interests in Springfield,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
McLaughlin, who owns an investment advisory firm, raised less than $300,000 for his reelection campaign.