The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday dismissed Republican challenger Jim Oberweis’ contest of the result in the 14th Illinois House District 2020 election. That followed the recommendation in a report by the Committee on House Administration that received bipartisan support.
The action by the House is likely the final move in confirming Democratic U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood’s victory in the race for the seat. Oberweis had had previous legal and administrative appeals rejected by the courts and elections officials.
In a release, Underwood’s campaign welcomed the House vote -- which came six months to the day after the Associated Press called the election for Underwood -- and decried Oberweis’ quest to contest the results as “wasting taxpayer resources with his political theater.”
The Republican, then an Illinois State Senator, ran a close race with the incumbent Democrat for the seat in the district that mixes rural and suburban areas in a large swath on the edge of the Chicago metropolitan area. Oberweis led the count the night of the November election, but in the days afterward, as mail-in ballots were counted, Underwood pulled ahead and ended up with a margin of victory of fewer than 5,400 votes out of more than 400,000 cast. Oberweis immediately called the results into question and began his efforts to contest the election -- efforts which seem to have reached their conclusion with the vote in the U.S. House.
