Nov 05, 2024
View real-time results on the 2024 general election from the AP. Follow our live coverage for context, reactions, and analysis throughout the day. Illinois’ most-watched congressional race was too close to call Tuesday night as incumbent Eric Sorensen, a Democrat from Moline, faced former judge Joe McGraw for the 17th District seat that has been solidly blue since the 1980s for all but two years.Sorensen had 53.2% of the vote to McGraw’s 46.8%, with 70.3% of expected votes counted late Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, left, of Moline speaks to supporters Tuesday night, claiming victory in his effort to win re-election to his 17th Congressional District seat, though the Associated Press had not yet declared a winner.Mawa Iqbal/WBEZ But Sorensen, a former Quad Cities TV meteorologist, had seen enough to claim victory. He thanked his family, friends and supporters for landing him a second term in Congress. He said his job is to "keep you safe and prepared for what was ahead, and that's what I'm doing in Congress." His Republican challenger, former circuit court judge Joe McGraw, left his watch party earlier in the night without conceding.McGraw, who retired from 20 years on the bench to run for Congress, awaited results from Franchesco's Ristorante on Rockford's east side. There, State Rep. John Cabello (R-Machesney Park) was confident earlier in the evening even though he said the deck was stacked against them thanks to the last redistricting process."Just look at the way the district is drawn, it's a piece of ****," he said. "We're not serving the constituents the way they should be served, because of the way they have these maps."Sorensen’s win in 2022 was narrow, so the race has garnered some national attention plus out-of-state fundraising as one of a handful of districts that could impact the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. Illinois‘ delegation (in which Sorensen, 48, is the only openly gay member) leans heavily Democratic — 14 to 3 — by design as state Dems long holding a super majority in the General Assembly redrew district lines before the 2022 election to favor their own party.Illinois’ 17th District is vast and includes some or all of 14 counties. It wraps around Chicago’s suburbs in a C-shape from Rockford in the northwest, touching the Quad Cities on the state’s western border, and runs through Downstate Galesburg, Pekin and Peoria before ending in Bloomington, a good two hours south of Chicago.That means its residents live in college towns and urban areas as well as on farms. Sorensen, who worked as a metorologist in TV markets in Rockford and the Quad Cities, outraised McGraw more than three to one. In one of the state’s most expensive races, McGraw has pulled in about $1.3 million, and as of Oct. 16 Federal Election Commission reports, still had $331,000 on hand; Sorensen collected about $4.7 million, and had $1.3 million remaining. Related Illinois’ 17th Congressional seat gets competitive in matchup between incumbent Eric Sorensen and Joe McGraw Both candidates said they want to focus on making life affordable for ordinary citizens.For McGraw, 69, of Rockford, that means closing off immigration at the border with Mexico — as former President Donald Trump also wants to do — in addition to dealing with inflation and supporting manufacturing jobs.“With the economy and the interest rates and the open border, Americans are struggling to survive and they just can’t make it,” he told WBEZ recently.Sorensen, 48, pointed to his successes in getting local needs — like bridge repairs and water line replacements — funded by Congress because he’s worked across the aisle.Mawa Iqbal and Alex Degman of WBEZ contributed to this story. More Congressional Results Elections Illinois 6th Congressional District election results By Lauren FitzPatrick [month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]   Elections Illinois 14th Congressional District election results By Lauren FitzPatrick [month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]   Elections U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen leads Joe McGraw in Illinois 17th Congressional District election By Lauren FitzPatrick [month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]   Chicago School Board Ellen Rosenfeld wins in North Side District 4 Chicago School Board race By Nader Issa [month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]   More Stories
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