(The Center Square) – Races to represent districts around Illinois in Springfield for the 105th Illinois General Assembly saw some shakeups, with Democrats flipping several seats.
Illinois House
Democrats grew their supermajority in the Illinois House, previously with 78 seats compared to the Republicans’ 40.
Democrats could gain up to seven new seats in the House if some races not called as of Wednesday morning remain in favor of the Democratic candidate.
House members serve two-year terms.
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch reacted to the expanded majority in a statement late Tuesday.
“This victory is a testament to the strength of our members, the dedication of our campaigns, and the voters who continue to place their trust in House Democrats,” said Speaker Welch.
Of the GOP-held seats with races called, the House Democrats declared victories in four new districts: 47th, 48th, 52nd, and 65th districts.
GOP Rep. Amy Grant, R-Wheaton, opted to not run for reelection. Erica Bray-Parker, a Wheaton City Councilwoman and local educator, defeated Carol Stream Republican Robert Vrankovich by an estimated 8,000 votes.
Amanda Zahorak took a reported 54.7% of the vote to defeat incumbent Rep. Jennifer Sanalitro, R-Hanover Park.
Maria Peterson defeated Rep. Marty McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills in a rematch of 2024 – when the incumbent won by just 47 votes.
Ricky Rivard beat incumbent Republican Assistant Minority Leader Dan Ugaste by a preliminary county of about 2,700 votes, with the majority of ballots counted.
Many of the 118 races for the House were closer than in previous years, with Republicans narrowly lagging behind in five of the seven uncalled races Wednesday morning.
The House Republican Organization did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comment.
Senate
Democrats held a supermajority of 40 seats in the Senate compared to the GOP’s 19 in the 2025-2026 General Assembly. That supermajority increased after the Tuesday election.
Democrats now control at least 44 seats, with two of the three uncalled races leaning in their favor Wednesday. Republicans held just 12 seats, with one uncalled race leaning in the favor of the Republican incumbent.
A total of 39 seats in the 59-member state Senate were up for election this year, and elected senators serve for our years.
Incumbent GOP Sens. Seth Lewis, Darby Hills, and Erica Harriss all saw their seats flip to their Democratic opponents – called by multiple media organizations by night’s end Tuesday.
Sen. Hills, R-Lake Zurich, lost to state Rep. Nabeela Syed, D-Palatine, in one of the most expensive statehouse races in history – with Syed raising $4.7 million for her campaign, while Hills raised $1.8 million according to Reform for Illinois’ Sunshine Database.
Syed celebrated her win Tuesday night at a campaign election night watch party.
“You don’t see Republican held seats slipping like this in the suburbs. You don’t see young women of color flipping Republican held seats. In order to do the impossible, we need to have the support of so many people in the community, and you were those people. You made the impossible possible. I’m grateful to be serving as the next state senator of the 26th,” Syed said.
In a statement, Hills conceded Tuesday night while criticizing the high spending by her opponent.
“Sadly, spending more than $6 million to lie about someone’s record and beliefs can win you an election. But that doesn’t make it right. Voters need to see these sleazy tactics for what they are and hold politicians accountable for them in the future if we’re ever going to have strong, independent leaders who stand up for working families,” read Hills’ statement.
GOP Sens. Dave Syverson and Craig Wilcox, who were believed to be in safe seats for the Republicans, remained behind their Democratic challengers Wednesday morning.
The only race still up in the air that favored the Republican candidate Wednesday was Sen. Sue Rezin’s race in the 38th district.
The 104th General Assembly returns to Springfield from Nov. 17-19 for the first week of the fall veto session, followed by another three days Dec. 1-3 and a to-be-announced lame-duck session.
The newly elected lawmakers are expected to sworn in Jan. 13.
