Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez speaks at an Election Day news conference. She is joined by other elected Illinois Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, U.S. Rep. Danny Davis and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, among others. (Photo by Andrew Adams/Capitol News Illinois)   

For both Illinois Democrats and Republicans, the General Election was, as the old saying goes, a bit like kissing your sister (or brother, as the case may be).  

Things didn’t get any better for Illinois Republicans, but they also didn’t get any worse. Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s so-called “Great 78,” will remain the status quo, with no effort required for now to create a new moniker.  

In the wake of the Nov. 5 results — some of which are not yet complete due to mail-in ballots continuing to be processed — both Democrats and Republicans say they are ready to turn their attention to the future. Both sides insist that they have seen progress, and both vowed to build on that progress.

Democrats control state House seats, 78-40.

State GOP officials largely adhered to the first law of problem-solving; when in a hole, stop digging … and don’t let anyone else dig for you. So, the status quo will do for now, GOP leaders have effectively said in so many words, as they look to the 2026 election ballot that includes the governor’s office.  

In the meantime, GOP State Party Chair Kathy Salvi, House GOP Leader Tony McCombie and GOP Senate Leader John Curran will be looking for ways and means of raising greater sums of campaign cash for an election cycle that will very likely be every bit as expensive and nasty as 2024, but without a galvanizing figure like Donald Trump atop the ballot to jazz Republican turnout. 

The Illinois GOP has some right to crow after successfully fighting off extremely well-funded Democratic attacks. Perhaps no race was more closely watched than the 114th House race in St. Clair County. There, freshman incumbent Kevin Schmidt, who upset then Rep. LaToya Greenwood in 2022, successfully defended his seat despite being outraised by Greenwood by a 6-1 margin. 

A few races proved to be highly competitive. 

That was true in the 52nd House district, where incumbent Republican Rep. Martin McLaughlin, of Barrington Hills, was leading Democratic challenger Maria Peterson, 51 percent to 49 percent, a margin of fewer than 1,000 votes. 

And in the 47th House District, incumbent Republican Rep. Amy Grant, of Wheaton, was leading Democrat Jackie Williamson, 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent, a margin of just 500 votes. 

Another uncalled race is in the 76th District that includes parts of DeKalb, LaSalle and Bureau counties. Democrat Amy Briel led Republican Liz Bishop by less than 700 votes in the race to succeed retiring Democrat Lance Yednock.  

91st District Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, held on to her seat.  

In the 112th District in the Metro East area outside St. Louis, Democratic Rep. Katie Stuart, of Edwardsville, defeated Republican challenger Jay Keeven, also of Edwardsville, 54 percent to 46 percent.  

That district was at the center of a debate during the spring legislative session when Democrats pushed through a bill to ban the practice of political parties “slating“ candidates for a race after a primary election if no candidate from that party ran for the nomination.  

That bill passed the General Assembly in May, even though candidates from both parties, including Keeven, were already actively gathering petition signatures to fill vacant ballot positions. 

The Illinois Supreme Court eventually ruled that law couldn’t go into effect in 2024, allowing Keeven to remain on the ballot. 

And in the neighboring 114th District, former Democratic Rep. LaToya Greenwood, of East St. Louis, lost her bid to retake the seat she lost following redistricting in 2022 to Republican Rep. Kevin Schmidt. Unofficial returns from that rematch showed Schmidt winning 52 percent to 48 percent.  

On the downside, Republicans spent three quarters of a million dollars attempting to flip Sen. Patrick Joyce’s 40th State Senate seat red, before retreating in the face of a $2.5 million Democratic money dump in October.  

Republicans will have a more demanding budget in 2026, when they defend numerous Senate seats.  

Welch, whose Democrats for the Illinois House, along with the Democratic Party, backed a $5 million-$6 million effort that failed to flip at least four GOP House seats, and millions more to defend vulnerable Democratic House incumbents, changed the subject deftly. He started by celebrating the fact that the impressive gains made by the GOP across many parts of the country “did not come to Illinois.” 

“Our goal, first and foremost, is always to defend Illinois’ Democratic majority,” Welch said. “In a national environment we knew would be challenging, the gains Republicans saw across the country did not come to Illinois,” said Welch, a Hillside Democrat representing the 7th House District. 

Republican leaders, buoyed by their success nationally, celebrated the significant improvement in Donald Trump’s electoral performance in Illinois over past cycles.  

“We cut that margin in half, and we’re not considered a swing state,” Illinois GOP chair Kathy Salvi said of Trump’s improvement from a 17-point loss in Illinois in 2020 to just an eight-point loss in 2024. That, Salvi opined, “shows the policies and common-sense solutions of the Republican Party resonate. The working men and women of Illinois are now squarely in the Republican camp.” 

McCombie, R-Savannah, who had openly acknowledged the GOP’s lack of funding and said candidates would “have to work harder,” was cheered by her party’s candidates being able to overcome daunting odds and meager war chests. 

“Holding our caucus together is a testament to our grassroots operation — the heart of our team, undeterred by the most partisan gerrymandered map in the nation and exponential spending against us,” she said in a statement.  

Illinois voters, McCombie said, “are exhausted by decades of one-party control.” She added that House Republicans “remain committed to delivering economic growth, ending corruption and putting Illinois families first.” 

In a statement released Nov. 6, Democratic Party of Illinois officials expressed optimism going forward and said they remain “resolute in our mission.”  

Party leaders pointed to new organizational approaches that they say bode well for 2026 and beyond for the Democratic Party here.  

“For the first time, DPI executed a comprehensive, statewide coordinated campaign extending down the entire ballot. Through Organize Illinois 2024, we maximized volunteer recruitment, voter outreach, and get-out-the-vote efforts while remaining committed to community-led action.” 

Democrats say they are undeterred by GOP success elsewhere and vowed to continue to fight back hard against MAGA extremism and the Republicans they accuse of supporting it.  

“As Illinois Democrats begin to turn our focus in the coming weeks to upcoming municipal races, we understand the critical need to counter renewed efforts from the extreme, Trump-aligned factions of the IL GOP,” they said. “Alongside Governor (J.B.) Pritzker, President (Don) Harmon and Speaker Welch, Chair (Elizabeth “Lisa”) Hernandez and our Party remain resolute in our mission, ready to meet these challenges head-on, defend our values in every corner of the state, and continue building upon our progress.” 

(Capitol News Illinois contributed to this report)