McLaughlin Hangs On to Win House Race by 47 Votes
Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills).
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Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) won the closest House race since 2018 Tuesday, defeating Democrat Maria Peterson by 47 votes in the northwest suburban 52nd House District after Peterson continually cut into McLaughlin’s lead with late arriving mail-in ballots for the past two weeks.
McLaughlin, who received nominal assistance from the House Republican campaign arm during the race, endured more than a million dollars in spending from House Democrats, including over $825,000 in the final two weeks of the campaign on Chicago broadcast TV accusing McLaughlin of “extreme” positions on issues like abortion.
Late arriving votes from Cook, Lake, and McHenry counties cut McLaughlin’s lead from over 300 votes last week to the razor thin final count when all ballots were finally reported late Tuesday.
McLaughlin finished with 29,520 votes to Peterson’s 29,473. That’s a difference of 50.04% for McLaughlin to Peterson’s 49.96%.
McLaughlin didn’t respond to a phone call from The Illinoize Tuesday night.
Peterson didn’t respond to a message asking if she would consider a discovery recount, the first step in asking a judge to order a full recount, but a top Democratic source indicated Tuesday night a discovery recount was likely.
For months, many Republicans feared McLaughlin was headed for defeat as he ran a quixotic, underfunded campaign under the gun from House Democrats, but has held on for his third term in the General Assembly.
“Marty is the luckiest guy in Springfield,” one top Republican said Tuesday.
McLauglin’s 47 vote victory is the closest since 2018, when then GOP Rep. Tom Morrison of Palatine beat Democrat Maggie Trevor by 43 votes.
Rep. Amy Grant (R-Wheaton) also secured a fourth term Tuesday, as final results showed a 292 vote win for the chronically endangered legislator.
Rep. Brandun Schweizer (R-Danville) also appears headed to victory. He leads Democrat Jarrett Clem by 285 votes. The Danville Election Commission did not report final results last night, but we’re told its unlikely enough votes remain for Clem to overtake Schweizer.
Democrat Amy Murri-Briel, who goes by “Murri,” likely secured a victory over Republican Liz Bishop in the 76th District, increasing her lead from 505 votes on election night to 593. Bureau County did not report final results Tuesday night.
After millions of dollars spent by Republicans and Democrats in both chambers in 2024, there will be no changes to the makeup of the House and Senate in 2025. Democrats will retain their 78-40 advantage in the House and 40-19 supermajority in the Senate.
