Illinois

Election 2020

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14th District: Oberweis Declares Victory, Underwood Says Votes Still To Be Counted

Northern Public Radio | By WNIJ News

Published November 4, 2020 at 5:09 PM CST

Just over a thousand votes separate Democratic incumbent Rep. Lauren Underwood from challenger Republican Jim Oberweis. As of Wednesday, Oberweis has a razor thin lead.

The Oberweis campaign issued a statement on his social media page declaring victory in the race this afternoon:

We ended Election night with a slight lead over my opponent Lauren Underwood but with numerous votes yet to be counted.

Today, after contacting every County Clerk across the 14th District, I am pleased to say that, with only a handful of outstanding ballots, it appears that we have won a tough fought campaign.

This race has been an uphill battle to say the least.

But despite being outspent 4-1, we prevailed.

This is thanks to the many volunteers and staff who worked tirelessly to help win this race.

I want to personally thank everyone who supported our campaign.

I look forward to representing ALL the people of the 14th District in Congress.

Thank you.

Congresswoman Lauren Underwood's reelection campaign released the following statement Wednesday, attributable to Underwood for Congress spokeswoman Andra Belknap:

"Jim Oberweis doesn't get to call this election: the voters do. There are thousands of votes that have yet to be counted. We appreciate every voter who made their voice heard, and our county clerks and election officials must count every ballot in as expeditious and transparent a manner as is possible. Based on publicly available data, we remain confident that once ballots are counted, this race will reflect that the voters have reelected Congresswoman Lauren Underwood."