PEORIA, Ill. – Some local Democrats will keep their seats in the Illinois General Assembly after the midterm elections.
One of those, 92nd District State Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth, will retain her seat, defeating local minister and Peoria Charter employee Ben Watt.
“It’s important to be mindful that we have moved into a very polarized space,” said Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria). “In order to truly be able to represent people and communities — not just in this community, but across the state — we realy have to try to find our way to common ground.”
As of late Tuesday, the margin of victory for Gordon-Booth was roughly 7,000 votes.
Incumbent Peoria State Senator Dave Koehler looks to retain his seat in Springfield, fending off a challenge from newcomer and McLean County businesswoman Desi Anderson.
Koehler says he had a lot of help from students, including those who got the day off school Tuesday to vote for him.
“I just think that it’s great and it’s very comforting to those of us who are not so young anymore, to see that the younger generation really is taking democracy seriously,” said Koehler (D-Peoria).
Also, Sharon Chung defeated Scott Preston for the seat in the Illinois House from the 91st District.
