Kane County Reporter

After winning another term in his campaign against Democratic challenger Linda Roberston, Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-St. Charles) is assessing the election and what he did to keep his seat.

“I went out and worked the doors and I’ve always held firm to my position, making sure that it was representative of the people in my district and expressed the positions we all wanted to take,” Ugaste said.

The State House of Representatives has been under Democratic control since 1997, and the Senate has run blue since 2003, Ballotpedia reports. 

Ugaste also discussed what future Republican candidates need to do. 

“I think it’s a little too early to say, but I plan to look at how these races worked out. I will say the key is to look at the needs of the people in your district while remembering we’re all there to represent different districts and different voices,” Ugaste told the Kane County Reporter.

Ugaste was first elected in 2019. As he gets ready to start his next term, he said cracking down on crime and enhancing public safety remain his top objectives.

“Democrats say they plan to look at that, though we, as Republicans, haven't been part of that conversation,” Ugaste said. “Hopefully, what they have to say will work and really does what we need to be doing now to truly address the issues.”

Another goal is to reduce the tax burden. “We can always do things to lower taxes and it would greatly help people,” he said.

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker was re-elected to serve a second term. After his win, he said in a tweet, "To the many Illinoisans who exercised their civic duty at the polls or by mail: thank you for believing in our democracy. I serve ALL the people of Illinois and I look forward to working for you these next four years.” 

Ugaste said the Republicans need to come together and devise a solid platform heading into the future. “We need to win more statewide races to bring about the change this state is in need of,” he said.