District 50 State House GOP candidate Don Walter conceded in the race.
Walter lost to incumbent State Rep. Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora).
“Thank you to all of those that stepped up to make a difference," Walter said. "Your support and efforts will be rewarded someday. Congrats Rep Barbara Hernandez on your win.”
Walter received 37.5% of the vote with 8,302 votes to Hernandez’s 62.5% and 13,809 votes based on the election data picked up by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel from the election results provided by the Associated Press.
"As a working class Illinoisan, Don has professional experience in Healthcare, with Non-Profits, in the food industry and data management," his website reads. "Faith and family are very important to Don. He has three grandchildren and has been married to his wonderful wife Renee for 44 years. Don is a Parish Council President, and Co-President at St. Vincent DePaul. Don wants to represent us in Springfield because he believes that we can build a better Illinois not only for our children and for generations to come."
Walter’s campaign strongly opposed the SAFE-T Act. "Crime will be the new COVID starting January 1,” he said, according to an earlier report by Kane County Reporter. He noted restoring cash bail, which the SAFE-T Act eliminates, will keep dangerous offenders in prison where they belong. Walter also emphasized the importance of having a Republican voice in Springfield so there is more resistance to bills like the SAFT-T Act.
Democrats have held their supermajorities in both houses of the General Assembly and have proven this in this very first election after indicted Democrat Michael Madigan stepped down as the longest-serving legislative leader in the nation's history. Despite their high hopes and modest gains in the Senate seats, the election results were still disappointing for Republicans as Democrats retain their supermajority in Springfield. A factor for this outcome stems from the fact that some seats were unopposed: only 78 of the 118 House seats were contested, and only 25 of 59 seats were contested in the Senate, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Alerts Sign-up