After he took an early and commanding lead, it appeared Dick Durbin would continue to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate.
Durbin was first elected to the seat in 1997. He is the state’s senior senator and served as the Senate’s Assistant Majority Leader.
With only 2% of the votes counted in Illinois, Durbin held 59% – or 145.790 – of the votes counted.
Before 8 p.m., challenger Jim Oberweis was officially preparing to deliver a concession speech. Oberweis had 33% of the vote at that time.
Sharon Hansen had 3% of the vote.
